Why Did Peter Cotton Tail Hop Down The Bunny Trail?

Goodwin 1
We’ve all heard the common Easter song “here comes Peter Cotton Tail hopping down the bunny trail”, and pictures with the Easter bunny during our childhood were a must. Bunnies and rabbits are seen as cute, harmless, and fluffy. Many people, however, don’t see them as having a big purpose other than taking pictures with them, having them as pets, or them being a small game animal. What if Peter Cotton Tail didn’t just hop down the bunny trail? What if he got his passport, packed his little bunny bags, and hopped on a flight to travel the whole world? That seems unbelievable, and rabbits definitely don’t catch flights, but rabbits do feed millions of people around the world every day.
Though the domestication of rabbits dates back
Italy, France, China, Spain, and Nigeria are a few of the larger producers of rabbits. With that being said, many foreign countries benefit from rabbit farming. In Africa parents would encourage their children to care for rabbits in order to learn responsibility and work ethic until it was seen how profitable the market could be. Moses Mutua, a small commercial rabbit farmer in Kenya, has taken to rabbit farming like a bunny to a carrot. He says that many adults and young people use this method of farming as a way to make profit as a small business. In an interview with Diana Hubbell Mutua sheds light on the possible profits provided by commercial rabbit farming: “If you want to do it commercially, you’ll need at least five female rabbits and one male rabbit. That can earn you KSH 20,000 [$200] or even up to KSH 40,000 [$400] per month”(Hubbell). Rural Kenyans can make a major profit each month by merely rabbit farming. Farmers have wallets full of green and rabbits have bellies full of
In an FAO document it is stated that “In efficient production systems, rabbits can turn 20 percent of the proteins they eat into edible meat.” (FAO Corporate Document Repository). This is astounding compared to swine which only turns 16-18 percent of protein they consume into edible meat, and cattle at only 8-12 percent. Rabbits are able to easily convert the available proteins in cellulose-rich plants. For countries with little to no grain surplus, to feed chickens or other birds, rabbit meat production is an economical decision. In addition, as mentioned in the beginning of the paragraph, rabbit contains the least amount of the percentage of fat, the lowest amount of cholesterol, and the least amount of calories per pound of meat compared to chicken, beef, and pork. Chicken contains 20.0 percent protein, 17.9 percent fat, and is 810 calories per pound. Beef and pork contain between 11.9 and 16.7 percent of protein, and are both far more extensive in fat percentage and calories per pound than chicken or rabbit. Rabbit, however, comes in at a whopping 20.8 percent protein, 4.5 percent fat, and only 795 calories per