Rabbit farming in South Africa has been a niche agricultural industry over the past 10 years, with limited production and markets compared with other livestock industries. However, there have been some notable trends and developments during this period in terms of production.
Despite its somewhat limited scope in South Africa, global rabbit production is significant in many countries. According to the National Agricultural Marketing Council (NAMC), for example, 1,48 million tons of rabbit meat were produced in 2017. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates that around 1,2 billion rabbits are slaughtered globally on an annual basis.
In 2017, China was the world’s leading producer, with 62,9% of global production, followed by North Korea (10,4%), Spain (3,9%) and Egypt (3,8%). By the end
