Editing Rabbit (section)

==As food and clothing==
{{Main|Cuniculture}}
{{category see also|Rabbit dishes}}
[[File:Coniglio olive pinoli.jpg|thumb|''[[Coniglio alla sanremese]]'']]

Humans have hunted rabbits for food since at least the onset of the [[Last Glacial Maximum]],<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Seuru |first1=S. |last2=Perez |first2=L. |last3=Burke |first3=A. |year=2023|chapter= Why Were Rabbits Hunted in the Past? Insights from an Agent-Based Model of Human Diet Breadth in Iberia During the Last Glacial Maximum| editor-last1=Seuru |editor-first1=S. |editor-last2=Albouy |editor-first2=B. |title= Modelling Human-Environment Interactions in and beyond Prehistoric Europe. Themes in Contemporary Archaeology|publisher= Springer International Publishing |location= Cham |isbn=978-3-031-34335-3 | doi=10.1007/978-3-031-34336-0_7}}</ref> and wild rabbits and hares are still hunted for their meat as [[Game (hunting)|game]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bender |first=David A. |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780199234875.001.0001/acref-9780199234875 |title=A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2003 |edition=2nd |page=2335 |chapter=game |doi=10.1093/acref/9780199234875.001.0001 |isbn=978-0-19-923487-5 |chapter-url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780199234875.001.0001/acref-9780199234875-e-2309?rskey=w8Kjvd&result=3025}}</ref> Hunting is accomplished with the aid of trained [[falconry|falcons]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Southam |first=Hazel |date=July 2012 |title=Natural Selection |journal=Geographical |publisher=Geographical Magazine Ltd. |volume=84 |issue=7 |pages=40–43 |via=EBSCOhost}}</ref> [[Rabbiting#Ferreting|ferrets]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Linduska |first=J. P. |date=1947 |title=The Ferret as an Aid to Winter Rabbit Studies |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3796283 |journal=The Journal of Wildlife Management |volume=11 |issue=3 |pages=252–255 |doi=10.2307/3796283 |jstor=3796283 |issn=0022-541X|url-access=subscription }}</ref> or [[Hunting dogs|dogs]] (a common hunting breed being [[beagle]]s),<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=McKean |first=Andrew |date=October 2008 |title=Fall's Forgotten Hunt |journal=Outdoor Life |volume=215 |issue=9 |pages=58–62 |via=EBSCOhost}}</ref> as well as with [[Trapping (Animal)|snares]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Nickens |first=T. Edward |date=June 2020 |title=Snare a Rabbit |journal=Field & Stream |volume=125 |issue=2 |page=53 |via=EBSCOhost}}</ref> rifles and other guns.<ref name=":0" /> A caught rabbit may be dispatched with a sharp blow to the back of its head, a practice from which the term ''[[rabbit punch]]'' is derived.<ref name="EtymRabbit">{{OEtymD|rabbit|accessdate=2024-09-17}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xZYZDgAAQBAJ |page=120 |last=Room |first=Adrian |year=2010 |title=Dictionary of Sports and Games Terminology |isbn=978-0-7864-5757-1 |publisher=McFarland }}</ref>

Wild leporids comprise a small portion of global rabbit-meat consumption. Domesticated descendants of the European rabbit (''Oryctolagus cuniculus'') that are bred and kept as livestock (a practice called [[cuniculture]]) account for the estimated 2{{Nbsp}}million tons of rabbit meat produced annually.<ref name=geng>Olivia Geng, [https://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2014/06/13/french-rabbit-heads-the-newest-delicacy-in-chinese-cuisine French Rabbit Heads: The Newest Delicacy in Chinese Cuisine] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170714001053/https://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2014/06/13/french-rabbit-heads-the-newest-delicacy-in-chinese-cuisine/ |date=14 July 2017 }}. The Wall Street Journal Blog, 13 June 2014</ref> Approximately 1.2&nbsp;billion rabbits are slaughtered each year for meat worldwide.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QL|title=FAOSTAT|website=FAO|access-date=2019-10-25}}</ref> In 1994, the countries with the highest consumption per capita of rabbit meat were [[Malta]] with {{convert|8.89|kg|lb|abbr=on}}, Italy with {{convert|5.71|kg|lb|abbr=on}}, and [[Cyprus]] with {{convert|4.37|kg|lb|abbr=on}}. The largest producers of rabbit meat were China, Russia, Italy (specifically [[Veneto]]<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Davidson |first=Alan |title=The Oxford Companion to Food |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2014 |isbn=9780191756276 |editor-last=Jaine |editor-first=Tom |edition=3rd |pages=1899–1901 |doi=10.1093/acref/9780199677337.001.0001}}</ref>), France, and Spain.<ref name="fao.org">[http://www.fao.org/docrep/t1690e/t1690e03.htm FAO – The Rabbit – Husbandry, health and production.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150423054344/http://www.fao.org/docrep/t1690e/t1690e03.htm |date=23 April 2015 }}</ref> Rabbit meat was once a common commodity in Sydney, with European rabbits having been introduced intentionally to Australia for hunting purposes,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Alves |first1=Joel M. |last2=Carneiro |first2=Miguel |last3=Day |first3=Jonathan P. |last4=Welch |first4=John J. |last5=Duckworth |first5=Janine A. |last6=Cox |first6=Tarnya E. |last7=Letnic |first7=Mike |last8=Strive |first8=Tanja |last9=Ferrand |first9=Nuno |last10=Jiggins |first10=Francis M. |date=2022-08-30 |title=A single introduction of wild rabbits triggered the biological invasion of Australia |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |volume=119 |issue=35 |pages=e2122734119 |doi=10.1073/pnas.2122734119 |doi-access=free |issn=1091-6490 |pmc=9436340 |pmid=35994668|bibcode=2022PNAS..11922734A }}</ref> but declined after the [[myxomatosis]] virus was intentionally introduced to control the exploding population of [[Rabbits in Australia|feral rabbits in the area]].<ref>{{cite news |author=Alyse Edwards |date=20 Apr 2014 |title=Rabbit meat disappearing from consumers' tables as farmers struggle with spiralling costs |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-04-21/rabbit-meat-disappearing-from-australian-tables/5400586 |publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]}}</ref>

In the United Kingdom, fresh rabbits are sold in butcher shops and markets, and some supermarkets sell frozen rabbit meat. It is sold in farmers markets there, including the [[Borough Market]] in London.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=Ed |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1LVyDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT55 |title=The Borough Market Cookbook: Recipes and stories from a year at the market |date=2018-10-04 |publisher=Hodder & Stoughton |isbn=978-1-4736-7869-9 |page=55 |language=en}}</ref> Rabbit meat is a feature of Moroccan cuisine, where it is cooked in a [[tajine]] with "raisins and grilled almonds added a few minutes before serving".<ref>'Traditional Moroccan Cooking, Recipes from Fez', by Madame Guinadeau. (Serif, London, 2003). {{ISBN|1-897959-43-5}}.</ref> In China, rabbit meat is particularly popular in [[Sichuan cuisine]], with its stewed rabbit, spicy diced rabbit, BBQ-style rabbit, and even spicy rabbit heads, which have been compared to ''[[Wuhan duck|spicy duck neck]]''.<ref name=geng/> In the United States, rabbits sold as food are typically the domestic New Zealand, [[Belgian Hare|Belgian]], and Chinese rabbits, or Scottish hares.<ref>{{cite web |date=12 January 2006 |title=Rabbit: From Farm to Table |url=http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Factsheets/Rabbit_from_Farm_to_Table/index.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080705212650/http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Factsheets/Rabbit_from_Farm_to_Table/index.asp |archive-date=5 July 2008 |website=USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service }}</ref>

An infectious disease associated with rabbits-as-food is [[tularemia]] (also known as ''rabbit fever''), which may be contracted from an infected rabbit.<ref name=":5" /> The disease can cause symptoms of [[fever]], [[skin ulcers]] and [[Lymphadenopathy|enlarged lymph nodes]], and can occasionally lead to pneumonia or throat infection.<ref name="CDC2015Sym">{{cite web |date=15 May 2023 |title=Signs and Symptoms of Tularemia |url=https://www.cdc.gov/tularemia/signs-symptoms/?CDC_AAref_Val=https://www.cdc.gov/tularemia/signssymptoms/ |access-date=21 August 2024 |website=U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |language=en-us}}</ref> Secondary vectors of tularemia include [[tick]] and fly bites, which may be present in the fur of a caught rabbit.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |date=1927 |title=Seasonal Incidence of Tularaemia and Sources of Infection |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4578598 |journal=Public Health Reports |volume=42 |issue=48 |pages=2948–2951 |jstor=4578598 |issn=0094-6214}}</ref> Inhaling the bacteria during the skinning process increases the risk of getting tularemia;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://health.utah.gov/epi/fact_sheets/tularem.html |title=Tularemia (Rabbit fever) |publisher=Health.utah.gov |date=16 June 2003 |access-date=30 August 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100526071651/http://health.utah.gov/epi/fact_sheets/tularem.html |archive-date=26 May 2010 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> preventative measures against this include the use of gloves and [[Surgical mask|face masks]]. Prior to the development of [[antibiotic]]s, such as [[doxycycline]] and [[gentamicin]], the death rate associated with tularemia infections was 60%, which has since decreased to less than 4%.<ref name="Man2014">{{cite book |last1=Penn |first1=R.L. |title=Francisella tularensis (Tularemia) In J. E. Bennett, R. Dolin, & M. J. Blaser (Eds.), Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases. |date=2014 |publisher=Churchill Livingstone |isbn=978-1-4557-4801-3 |edition=8th |location=Philadelphia, PA |pages=2590–2602}}</ref>

In addition to their meat, domestic rabbits are used for their [[wool]]<ref name="Angora Wool Production"/> and [[Rabbit hair|fur]] for clothing,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Xian |first=Vivian |date=2007 |title=China, Where American Mink Gets Glamour |url=https://apps.fas.usda.gov/newgainapi/api/Report/DownloadReportByFileName?fileName=China,%20Where%20American%20Mink%20Gets%20Glamour_Guangzhou%20ATO_China%20-%20Peoples%20Republic%20of_05-17-2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240320144432/https://apps.fas.usda.gov/newgainapi/api/Report/DownloadReportByFileName?fileName=China,%20Where%20American%20Mink%20Gets%20Glamour_Guangzhou%20ATO_China%20-%20Peoples%20Republic%20of_05-17-2007 |archive-date=March 20, 2024 |access-date=March 20, 2024 |website=USDA Foreign Agricultural Service Global Agriculture Information Network}}</ref> as well as their nitrogen-rich manure and their high-protein milk.<ref name="HoudebineFan2009">{{cite book |last1=Houdebine |first1=Louis-Marie |last2=Fan |first2=Jianglin |title=Rabbit Biotechnology: Rabbit Genomics, Transgenesis, Cloning and Models |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AYCC8FLbX2wC&pg=PA69 |access-date=26 February 2018 |date=1 June 2009 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-90-481-2226-4 |pages=68–72 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140426101257/http://books.google.com/books?id=AYCC8FLbX2wC&pg=PA69 |archive-date=26 April 2014 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Production industries have developed domesticated rabbit breeds (such as the [[Angora rabbit]]) for the purpose of meeting these needs.<ref name="rabprobreeds2"/> In 1986, the number of rabbit skins produced annually in France was as high as 70 million, compared to 25 million [[mink]] pelts produced at the same time. However, rabbit fur is on the whole a byproduct of rabbit meat production, whereas minks are bred primarily for fur production.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Lebas |first1=F. |last2=Coudert |first2=P. |last3=Rouvier |first3=R. |last4=de Rochambeau |first4=H. |date=1986 |title=The rabbit husbandry, health and production |chapter=Production of rabbit skins and angora wool |chapter-url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/x5082e/X5082E0h.htm |access-date=8 October 2024 |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |series=FAO Animal Production and Health |location=Rome, Italy}}</ref>

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