U.S. furrier praises N.Z. Rex rabbit fur quality

Press, 6 August 1981, Page 3

U.S. furrier praises N.Z. Rex rabbit fur quality

Mr Bob Ritter, the man in charge of the wild American fur department of a New York firm of fur brokers, is optimistic about the production of Rex rabbit furs in New Zealand. He is in New Zealand to give the infant industry here the benefit of his 35 years experience in the fur business.

Mr Ritter said that he had seen only good-quality furs and pelts here. But recalling the bad old days when rabbits devastated the country, he said that New Zealand and Australia had probably produced more rabbits than anywhere else in the world.

The Rex Mr Ritter regards as a very special rabbit — “a rabbit in a fur coat” —

whereas other rabbits wore just hair. The skin or fur of the Rex stood alongside the mink and the sable, he said. Mr Ritter said that his firm was also in the process of getting Rex production off the ground in the United States.

The growth of Rex fur production was happening at a time when there had been a decline in wild furs in the United States and in other parts of the world as a result of over-trapping encroachment on natural habitats. One of the virtues of the Rex was the adaptability of its fur and that almost anything could be done with it. Although in the natural state the fur had 35 colour variations, Mr Ritter recommended that New Zealand producers concentrate on producing four basic colours — chin, black, castor, and white.

Mr Ritter suggested that the skins could return about

SUSIO or SNZI2 in the hand to the producer in New Zealand. The sale of the meat should cover the cost of feeding. With the industry beginning to grow overseas, the New' York market handled only about 55.000 Rex skins in 1980-81. Mr Jack Hoggard, a Rex rabbit farmer of Tokoroa, believes that New Zealand has the opportunity to become a force in the world market and has recommended that producers here should work on a co-opera-tive basis.

With a return of $9 to $ll a skin, Mr Hoggard said, a 50-doe unit had the potential to net $25,000 a year. . Mr Hoggard had with him a coat made from 22 Rex furs in the United States which would sell for about SUS3OOO or about SNZ366O. He said that such coats could be made to sell in New Zealand for about $l5OO to $2OOO.

Mr Ritter will address seven seminars in New Zealand. including one in Christchurch on Monday evening.