RABBIT PRODUCTION IN EAST EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

Abstract

Despite their old tradition and their 10 % of the world meat rabbit production, there is few available information concerning rabbit breeding in the East European Countries. This study summarizes the rabbit meat production in this geographic area.In Bulgarla, the rabbit production is traditional and self­consumption orientad. A slight exportation trend appeared at the end of the 80's. The production of rabbit meat may be evaluated at 4 100 tons/year.In Hungary, the important production is only export-oriented without any tradition of rabbit production and internal-market. Hungary is the second exporting country in the world, just after China. After the creation of huge production units, Hungary organizad the rational rural farms production. The political and economic changas of the last 3 years allowed the establishment of sorne private middle size farms. The production may be evaluated at 20 000 tons/years including 18 400 tons/years for exportation and 1 000 to 2 000 tons/year for self-consumption.In Poland, the rabbit production began on the xIth century and strongly increased after the second world war. The two components of the polish rabbit production are: the rural (90 % of the production) and the rational rabbit production (limitad but increasing). The rabblt meat production is both for self-consumption and exportation. The whole polish production may be evaluated at 25 000 tons/year including 20 000 tons/year for rural production and 5 000 tons/year for rational production.In Romanla, a very ambitious development program for rabbit meat production was launched in 1978, creating very big industrial farms mainly export-oriented. Romania became an exporting rabbit meat country. The political changes at the end of 1989 strongly modified the structures of the rabbit production and reorientad it towards the internal-market. The romanian production may be evaluated at 16 000 tons/year. In Czechoslovakla, the rabbit production is also very old and have 3 components the hobbyist production (7 000/8 000 tons/year of rabblt meat), the traditional which is the more important and the rational, still limitad but fast­expanding because of the last polltical changas. The production is mainly self-consumption orientad. The czechoslovakian production may be evaluated at 30 000 tons/year including 27 000 tons for the rural production and 3 000 tons/year for the rational production. On the whole, a strong exporting calling distinguishes the East European Countries which share with China the monopoly of the exportations to the E.E.e. Otherwise, the east european rabbit production has suffer and is suffering important changas: first, the traditional, self-consumption orientad rabbit production was changad in rational production by the creation of state farms and coops; presently, middle­size production units (100 to 300 does) wlth commercial calling are developping in the same conditions as they were in West Europa during the 70's.