Summary

Viral hemorrhagic disease of rabbits (VHDR) was confirmed on August 17, 2001 in a rabbitry in Utah County, Utah. This is the 2nd occurrence of VHDR in the US. The premises was quarantined and tracebacks have identified 3 establishments in Utah, Montana, and Illinois with contact to the affected premises. The 3 contact premises have also been placed under quarantine.

If Utah remains the only state in which the virus is found, the impact on the domestic industry will be small. Utah has only 1% of the US’ rabbit farms with 1% of the inventory. Thus, the supply of rabbits for meat, pelts, or research will not be significantly diminished. Since there are no major rabbit slaughter plants in Utah, processing capability will not be impacted either. Only 0.2% of all US rabbits used in research are used in Utah, therefore the potential to impact research would also be minimal.

The US exports small amounts of live rabbits, rabbit meat, and furskins. In 2000, the total value of these exports was $613,000, a major decrease from $1.7 million in 1999. Most live rabbits go to Canada.

How extensive is the situation?

Viral hemorrhagic disease of rabbits (VHDR) was confirmed on August 17, 2001 in a rabbitry in Utah County, Utah. As of August 20, 65 of the approximately 750 rabbits on the premises had died. The remainder will be depopulated. The premises was quarantined and tracing of movements into and out of the premises is underway. Tracebacks identified 3 establishments in Utah, Montana and Illinois with contact to the affected premises, all of which have also been placed under quarantine.

This is the 2nd occurrence of VHDR in the US. The first outbreak occurred in April 2000 in Iowa. The disease remained limited to one premises and the origin of the infection was never definitively determined. For information about that outbreak and background information about VHDR, see "Rabbit Calicivirus Disease, Iowa, April 2000 - Impact worksheet" at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/ceah/cei/rabbitcal.htm.

The U.S. Rabbit Industry

Rabbit farms

In 1997 there were 13,320 farms with rabbits in the US, with a total inventory of 530,189 rabbits. Since farms are defined as premises with $1,000 or more in agricultural sales, these inventory estimates may not include rabbits kept as pets. Texas had the largest number of rabbit farms, while California had the largest number of rabbits. Utah had 1% of the nation’s rabbit farms and 1% of the rabbit inventory. (Appendix A)

Source: USDA,NASS - 1997 Census of Agriculture

Rabbits used in scientific research

Almost 300,000 rabbits were used for research in 735 facilities during 1999. Based on data from Animal Care inspections, at any one point in time these facilities house a total of almost 70,000 rabbits. The current trend is that the number of rabbits used in research is on the decline. Between 1973 and 1999, the largest number of rabbits used in one year was in 1987, when over 550,000 rabbits were used, and the smallest number of rabbits used in research in one year was in 1999. Rabbits are used in basic scientific research, for potency studies of vaccines and bactrins, and for the production of polyclonal antibodies for use in diagnostic test kits.

Of the total number of rabbits used in research in the US in 1999, only 0.2% were used in Utah. The state with the largest number of rabbits used in research was California, with 18% of total US research rabbits, followed by Pennsylvania (13%) and New Jersey (8%). (Appendix A)

Source: APHIS, Animal Care

Dealer, breeders, and exhibitors

There were 136 facilities inspected by USDA, Animal Care in 1999 that were dealers or breeders of rabbits (Appendix A). In these facilities were approximately 84,000 rabbits. There were no breeders or dealers located in Utah in 1999.

These dealers/breeders sell rabbits wholesale. Animal Care does not inspect dealers/breeders that sell animals directly to the public or those that sell less than $500 worth per year. According to an article by the American Rabbit Breeders Association, the majority of rabbit breeders do sell directly to the customer rather than to stores.

In addition to breeders and dealers, at last inspection there were about 2,500 rabbits owned by 351 licensed exhibitors (Appendix A). California, at 37, had the largest number of exhibitors with rabbits; Utah had 3 exhibitors.

Source: APHIS, Animal Care; "The Pet Rabbit Market" ARBA Commercial Department Committee (http://revolution.3-cities.com/~fuzyfarm/Pet-rab.htm)

Meat production

In 2000, 735 million rabbits were slaughtered worldwide, producing just over 1 million metric tons of rabbit meat. The world’s leader in rabbit meat production was China, with 31% of total production.

There were four federally-inspected slaughter facilities in the US that slaughtered rabbits in fiscal 2001. They are located in Arkansas, Oregon, Maryland, and North Carolina. Slaughter of rabbits also takes place at other, non-federally inspected facilities. As can be seen in the following table, the plant in Arkansas slaughtered by far the greatest numbers of rabbits. These four plants together accounted for less than 0.04 percent of world production of rabbit meat.

Byproducts from slaughter which can be marketed include pelts, rabbit brain powder, and blood serum.

Rabbit Slaughter Data by State

State	Number slaughtered
	FY 2001 through June 2001	FY 2000
Arkansas	201,803	385,435
Oregon	44,136
Maryland	502
North Carolina	288
Total	246,729	385,435

Source: USDA, FSIS

For additional background information on the US rabbit industry, see "Rabbit Calicivirus Disease, Iowa, April 2000 - Impact worksheet" at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/ceah/cei/rabbitcal.htm.

What are U.S. exports and imports of live rabbits/hares and rabbit/hare products?

Exports

The US exports small amounts of live rabbits, rabbit meat, and furskins as shown in the table below. The total value of US exports of rabbit products appears to be highly variable from year to year. The specific countries receiving these exports of live rabbits or rabbit products from the US varies from year to year as well. The quantities of US exports of rabbit meat accounted for 1.1% of world exports in 1999 and 2.1% of world exports in 1998. US exports of live rabbits in 1999 accounted for 2.9% of world exports and 1.7% of world exports in 1998.

In 2000, 76,469 rabbits or hares were exported, with 95% going to Canada. The remaining 5% were exported to Argentina, Japan, Denmark, Malaysia and Czech Republic. There was a marked decrease in frozen or fresh rabbit/hare meat exports between 1999 and 2000, dropping from $556,000 in 1999 to $75,000 in 2000. For frozen or fresh rabbit/hare meat, the top countries receiving US exports in 2000 were Mexico, Hong Kong, Japan, and Switzerland. The top countries receiving US exports of raw rabbit/hare furskins in 2000 were Chile, Israel, Russia, and Canada. In 2000, tanned or dressed rabbit/hare furskin exports went to Spain, Chile, Japan and Germany.

U.S. Exports of Live Rabbits/Hares, Rabbit/Hare Meat, and Rabbit/Hair Furskins, 1998 - 2000

Year	Live Rabbits/Hare (number)		Rabbit/Hare Meat (fresh & frozen)		Rabbit/Hare Furskins (raw & tanned)
	Quantity (number)	Value (US $)	Quantity (kg)	Value (US $)	Quantity (number)	Value (US $)
2000	76,469	318,000	77,449	75,000	17,920	220,000
1999	58,835	216,000	519,636	556,000	36,353	937,000
1998	35,806	172,000	971,090	977,000	16,862	277,000

Source: United Nations FAO, World Trade Atlas

Data on US state exports of rabbit products are only available by value in dollars, and not by quantity of material exported. The state is that from which movement originated and is not necessarily the state in which the product was grown or manufactured.

Exports of Rabbit Meat and Rabbit Skins by State* for 1999 and 2000

	Rabbit Meat, Fresh or Frozen Value (1000 $)		Rabbit Furskins, Raw & tanned Value (1000 $)
State	1999	2000	1999	2000
Arkansas	26			9
California	45	31	3	7
Colorado	20
Florida	35	10	14
Georgia	156		90
Hawaii				3
Illinois	59		5	15
Louisiana	76
Missouri	13
Montana				3
New Jersey	53		46
New York			33	70
North Carolina	28
Ohio				7
Oregon			4
Pennsylvania	5
South Carolina	12
Texas		35	27	16
Virginia	10
Washington	3		806
Wisconsin
Other	74			92
Total All States	556	76	938	220

* State from which movement originated; not necessarily where product was grown or manufactured

Source: World Trade Atlas, U.S. State Exports

Imports

In 2000, over 99.5% of all live rabbits imported into the US came from Canada; the remainder came from Germany. Imports of rabbit meat came primarily from China, and small amounts came from Canada. The largest numbers of furskins came from Belgium, Spain, Czech Republic, Portugal, and France.

US Imports of Live Rabbits/Hares and Rabbit/Hare Products, 1998 - 2000

	Live Rabbits/Hares (Number)		Rabbit/Hare Meat (fresh or frozen)		Rabbit/Hare Furskins (raw & tanned)
	Quantity (number)	Value (US $)	Quantity (kg)	Value (US $)	Quantity (number)	Value (US $)
2000	72,070	822,000	681,773	1,541,000	5,159,277	2,451,000
1999	56,160	655,000	304,358	657,000	4,127,424	1,935,000
1998	23,426	542,000	291,039	494,000	3,915,440	1,878,000

The US also imports other products of animal origin, where the type of animal is unspecified, from several countries with VHDR. Large suppliers to the US of "animal products chiefly used as food for animals or as ingredients in such food" include New Zealand, Australia, and China. These 3 countries combined exported over 54 million kg of this product to the US in 2000, valued at $29 million. China and New Zealand are also among the top US suppliers of "animal products not elsewhere specified or included, unfit for human consumption". The US imported about 105,000 kg of this product from these 2 countries in 2000, worth $770 thousand. Because China is by far the world’s leading rabbit producer, with 31% of the world’s rabbit meat production, it is possible that these unspecified animal products imported from China contain rabbit offal.

Source: World Trade Atlas; UN- FAO

Conclusions

The US exports small amounts of live rabbits, rabbit meat, and furskins. In 2000, the total value of these exports was $613,000, a major decrease from $1.7 million in 1999. Most live rabbits go to Canada, which does not have VHDR.

If Utah remains the only state in which the virus is found, the impact on the domestic industry will be small. Utah has only 1% of the US’ rabbit farms with 1% of the inventory. Thus, the supply of rabbits for meat, pelts, or research will not be significantly diminished. Since there are no major rabbit slaughter plants in Utah, processing capability will not be impacted either. Only 0.2% of all US rabbits used in research are used in Utah, therefore the potential to impact research would also be minimal.

As compared to segments of the livestock industry, the rabbit industry in the US is quite small, its value estimated at $25 million per year. However, this estimate of value does not take into account several factors. Rabbits are an important laboratory animal used in research programs; therefore, disruptions in the supply of rabbits could hamper research projects. Another factor this estimate does not take into account is the value, both monetary and emotional, of the pet and show rabbit industry.

If you have questions or would like to comment on this worksheet, please contact Chris Kopral at (970) 490-7819 or Ken Geter at (970) 490-7817 .

Appendix A - Establishments with Rabbits

¹ The number of rabbits is the number that was used in research in 1999

² The number of rabbits is the inventory at last inspection

Sources: Farms with rabbits (columns 2 and 3) from USDA, NASS, 1997 Census of Agriculture;

All other data from USDA, APHIS, Animal Care