MONEY IN RABBITS

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 88, 5 July 1927, Page 3

MONEY IN RABBITS

PROFITABLE ANGORAS Almost unnoticed a great new’ industry is being developed in Plngland, an industry which must thrive and flourish so long as women wear fur coats and felt and woolly clothes, and men sport felt hats, says “News of the World.” The industry referred to is rabbit farming for the production of either wool or fur. At the present time great quantities of rabbit wool are imported every year from France and Germany, the value of the wool imported from the first-named country being approximately £ 50,000 per annum. In addition, many thousands of rabbit skins are also imported from those countries, whilst there is also a big market for rabbit wool and fur in the United States, which imports both products from France and Germany. In recent years Angora rabbit wool farming has been commenced in this country, and it is estimated that the Present yearly production of Angora rabbit wool in this country yields about £IO.OOO. In addition there are the pelts, or skins, which also yield a considerable amount, but reliable figures cannot be obtained. Angora rabbit wool realises about 34s per pound. Rabbit skins, from which coney fur coats are manufactured, fetch, when prepared, dressed and dyed, 100 shillings per dozen, but fine chinchilla rabbit skins, when ready for the fur coat manufacturer to handle, fetch as much as 25s each. The producer of the pelts gets from Is to 12s for each skin, according to quality. Just recently we were shown a beautiful fur coat manufactured from chinchilla rabbits. It was priced at 55 guineas, and contained 40 skins. We were shown piles °f of other rabbit skins, dressed, and dyed in imitation of every fur-bearing animal—rabbit skins with leopard spots stencilled on them, rabbit skins looking likt* seal, beaver, and musquash. There is, apparently, an unlimited market not only for skins, but for "001. According to Lady Rachel Byng, writing in “Country Life,” there is money to be made out of Angora rabbit wool farming. This is confirmed by experts in the fur and felt trade, bady Byng says: “Though the pelts of Angoras are sometimes sold, one of the chief attractions of this industry is that these rabbits are mainly bred for Jheir marvellous silky wool production. To obtain this wool the animals are not killed, but sheared or plucked. For this silky wool there is an ever-waiting market. The Derwent Mills, Matlock, ®ay there is no limit to the demand jor No. 1 quality Angora wool from the best Angoras. For this they pay iis a pound. The wool at this price must be entirely free from matts, felts, or vegetable matter, such as nay, sawdust, etc. The amount of ]?mpl yielded by each individual rabbit differs almost as much as the laying capacity of hens. Angoras of the best strains should yield from Boz to 16oz annually. Angoras are clipped or Plucked’ four times a year. Plucking p the French way of reaping the wool. English people thing shearing, or clipPmg. more humane. Plucking is quite numane if one could rely on the Pluckers only plucking when the wool 18 ripe. When this is so the rabbit Be ®ms to enjoy the process, sitting absolutely quiet and often dozing.” A Project is on foot to establish a large rabbit farm in the Eastern Counties, where Angoras, chinchillas and Belgian hares would be bred and reared mr the wool and fur markets. Rabbit wool farms, if conducted on a commercial basis, can be much more profitable than poultry farming. Angoras cost about 6s to 7s a year to feed, and only half a pound of 'first-quality wool per rabbit would yield a fine profit.