The British Rabbit Council (BRC) is an organisation for

rabbit Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also includes the hares), which is in the order Lagomorpha (which also includes pikas). They are familiar throughout the world as a small herbivore, a prey animal, a domesticated ...

enthusiasts in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Rabbits are the UK's third most popular pet.

History

The British Rabbit Council was formed in 1934 when the British Rabbit Society and the National Rabbit Council of Great Britain and her Dominions merged. Local rabbit clubs in the 1940s were able to affiliate to the BRC. In 1952, the chair of the BRC, Mr T Leaver, said that there had been difficulties in the rabbit industry during the war, partly because of lack of government support before the war. "Despite these many setbacks, Mr. Leaver declared, 'We are an optimistic crowd, and we will carry on.' There were now over five hundred judges, who wanted people to breed exhibition rabbits with beautiful fur." Women were active in supporting the club and providing refreshments at meetings, but the organisation wanted more women active in showing rabbits. In the same year, the society set up examinations for rabbit-keeping. The first National Diplomas in Rabbit Husbandry were awarded in 1953. In the 1960s, the BRC campaigned against bans on rabbits being kept in

council housing Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council housing or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011, when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in social housing. D ...

, and suggested an upper limit of 12 rabbits per household.

Promotion of rabbit as a food source

In 1935, during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, the BRC provided rabbits to unemployed people so that they could breed them. In 1941, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the BRC worked with the Domestic Poultry and Rabbit Keepers' Council and the Ministry of Agriculture to encourage keeping rabbits as a food source. The BRC's legal department was said in 1944 to be ready to challenge any local councils which prohibited the keeping of rabbits, as this was contrary to the war effort. After the war, the council's promotion of rabbit as a food source continued. In 1954 a representative of the council said that "all rabbit breeders had a duty to the nation and that was a better feeding stuffs conversion into meat", to lessen the country's reliance on imported food. In 1959 the society tried to encourage mass production of rabbit meat; this was opposed by the RSPCA. The BRC set up the Commercial Rabbit Association as part of this project. In 1977, the secretary of the BRC "said that two or three does, kept in an ordinary backyard could produce enough meat for one family meal a week".

Membership numbers

In 1946, the society had around ten thousand members, and another quarter of a million through affiliated clubs. Its slogan was "Grow more rabbit meat for home consumption, and Angora wool for export". In January 1951 it had 70,000 members. In March 1951 it was said to have "more than 6,000 individual members", and 700 affiliated clubs.

Government grants

In 1951, the society was given a government grant to enable it to support Rabbit Clubs. In 1953, it was given a grant for Domestic Food Production of £1,150.

Myxomatosis

In the 1950s, the society warned people about the danger of myxomatosis. It carried out a survey of rabbit owners to try to manage the effects of the disease. The council successfully lobbied for inoculations against myxomatosis to be available for domestic rabbits. Members of the society were directly involved with dealing with the effects of the disease among domestic rabbits. They campaigned against the deliberate spreading of the disease.

Rabbit hemorrhagic disease

In 1992, the BRC temporarily stopped rabbit shows because of rabbit hemorrhagic disease. It campaigned for vaccination for rabbits against the disease.

Recognised breeds

There are over 50

breeds A breed is a specific group of breedable domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist seve ...

recognised by the British Rabbit Council and over 500 varieties. These are divided into four groups – Fancy, Lop, Normal Fur, Rex.

Shows

To enter most rabbit shows, participants must be Council members and their rabbits must have a metal ring around one hind leg registered in their name. In 1993, the Council was said to give out a hundred thousand rings each year. In breed classes, the rabbits are judged to standards defined by the BRC. The BRC awards stars, certificates for winning breed classes, diplomas, and identifies champion rabbits.

References

External links

BRC official website

Fur and Feather: the Official Journal of the BRC
{{coords, 53.078, -0.810, display=title Breeder organizations 1934 establishments in the United Kingdom Organizations established in 1934 Animal welfare organisations based in the United Kingdom Clubs and societies in Nottinghamshire Rabbits as pets Newark-on-Trent Pets in the United Kingdom