The domestic rabbit is the domesticated form of the European rabbit, native to the Iberian Peninsula. Domestication began in ancient Rome, by the 1st century BC or earlier, where rabbits were first kept in hutches and walled enclosures for meat, and developed gradually through the Medieval period until becoming an established livestock animal by around the 1500s. Beyond meat, it is raised today for fiber and fur, particularly from Angora breeds, for laboratory research, and as a companion animal. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Scientific NameOryctolagus cuniculus domesticus 2 Domestication RegionAncient Rome (wild ancestor native to the Iberian Peninsula) 2 Domesticated When (Circa)From the 1st century BC or earlier, established as livestock by circa 1500 AD 2 Primary UsesMeat, fiber and fur (Angora breeds), laboratory research, companionship 2 Era
Era (category) Connections
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Sources
1. Rabbit (Wikipedia)
lead: used as livestock since at least the first century BC in ancient RomeView the Source 2. Wikipedia: Domestic rabbit
Wikipedialead section, HistoryQuote, lead section, History
Rabbits were first domesticated and used for food and fur by the Romans.
Rabbit (Wikipedia)
History sectionQuote, History section
The captivity of rabbits as a food source is recorded as early as the 1st century BC, when the Roman writer Pliny the Elder described the use of rabbit hutches.
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