A breed of domestic rabbit, historically known as the Hollander or Brabander, easily identified by its characteristic color pattern and once the most popular of all rabbit breeds, though its popularity declined after dwarf rabbits were developed; it remains one of the top ten most popular breeds worldwide. Despite the name, the Dutch rabbit was actually developed in England rather than the Netherlands: during the 1830s rabbits were imported to England from Ostend in Belgium every week for the meat market, among them a breed called the Petit Brabancon, which originated in Brabant in Flanders and can still be seen in paintings from the fifteenth century. The Petit Brabancon often displayed Dutch-style markings, and English breeders selected and fixed those markings into the breed known today. Dutch rabbits are very popular as pets and are commonly raised among rabbit exhibitors.
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