Rabbits 'booming' in popularity

Interest in rabbits as pets spans the "social strata" says Mr Sim

The popularity of rabbits as pets is growing, according to the Scottish Rabbit Club (SRC).

The claim comes as fanciers in Scotland prepare to celebrate National Rabbit Week, which starts on Monday.

David Sim, of SRC, said the club, which is Scotland's oldest rabbit group, had seen its membership grow from nearly 50 people to almost 200.

Work is also under way to establish the SRC's most northerly branch, the Caithness Rabbit Fanciers' Association.

The national week culminates at the weekend when thousands of enthusiasts will head for the Bradford Excel Small Livestock Show at the Yorkshire Event Centre in Harrogate.

Opening the hutch door on Scotland's fascination with the animals, Mr Sim revealed the animals are far more than just a children's pet.

He said: "Keeping rabbits is a massive hobby not just here, but in Europe.

Bunny facts Rabbits were introduced to Britain by the Romans for their meat and fur Rabbit-like creatures are thought to have first evolved 65m years ago Domestic rabbits can live to between five and 10 years

"It has had a low-profile because it's been either a case of a hutch in the garden or one round the back of the shed.

"But it's an interest that goes right through the social strata - we've got people with MBEs, a couple of professors, firemen through to housewives."

He added: "In Scotland the interest is actually booming. From 45 to 50 members we're just short of 200 members."

The SRC was founded in 1887 amid a Victorian drive to improve the quality of Britain's livestock, said Mr Sim.

Other clubs, he said, emerged during the 1920s and 30s and the two world wars when rabbits were bred for their fur, but also their meat to make food rations go further.

Today, it is a hobby involving breeds such as Himalayan with its distinctive white body and black nose.

Cat Dunbar, who is one of five people behind efforts to establish the Caithness club, breeds black, blue and lilac Silver Foxes.

A lack of opportunities for fanciers in Caithness to show there inspired Mrs Dunbar and her family and friends to set up the new club.