The inside story regarding the exploitation of angora rabbits in France revealed by One Voice
9,000 tons of rabbit fur it is believed to be marketed each year in the world, mostly by China. The French sector, after a sharp decline, decreased from 2,000 farms in the 80s, to less than a hundred today. Free to decide upon their practice, these structures, which exploit from a few dozen to several hundred Angora rabbits, are however a source of great suffering.
For, if we know the fate of rabbits in Chinese farms, since a PETA survey in 2013, the investigators of One Voice have revealed that their fate in France is hardly better. The images and photos they have reported are without appeal.
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Conditions of detention of rabbits
Social and playful, rabbits like to hide, nibble, explore, run or jump and even play. In the wild, they live in groups of 5 to 7 individuals on average, who gather in colonies to watch and defend their territory against predators. In the farms they visited, the investigators of One Voice found living conditions more than undesirable. Rabbits are kept alone in small cages, except for mothers who have the company of their young. However, they cannot do anything, not even jump; the roof of the cage being so low ... The life of rabbits in these structures is reduced only to sleep, drink and eat, when they are not starved in preparation for fur removal.
The harsh destiny of angora rabbits
Fur production is dependent on the age of the rabbits and conditions their longevity. They are generally considered exploitable until 6 or 7 years of age. Males, producing less fur than the females, are eliminated after sexing (technique determining sex), and performed at birth or after a few months of existence. Some are kept for breeding, and exchanged with other breeders to limit consanguinity.
As for the females, they are exploited until they can no longer procreate. The surplus males are sometimes eaten; most of the unwanted rabbits (too old or sick) are disposed of freely according to habit, that is to say hit behind the head with a stick. The young rabbits meanwhile “are merely” thrown violently to the ground, according to the statements collected by our investigators. As for the remains, one of the breeders admitted to burning them rather than using knackery.
Fur removal of Angora rabbits: a cruel practice
Fur removal, performed three times a year, lasts on average between 20 and 45 minutes per rabbit. After the torture session, they end up almost naked. The fur on the back is removed a few days later. Many rabbits succumb to heat shock or become ill because their cages are only scarcely insolated against the cold.
Several methods are used to harvest fur: the most common takes place on a table. The rabbit is immobilized, the body stretched on a wooden table, attached by a front leg and a hind leg.
The rabbit is an animal of prey, so always ready to flee. Prisoner on the table, his stress is immense. Our investigators have seen some struggle or scream for several seconds even before the beginning of fur removal. But the worst is yet to come. Grabbed by the skin of the neck or belly, by a paw or even the head, put in positions that are in no way natural, their fur is then ripped out, by the handful, often with the skin still attached...genitals are no exception. The harsh cries they utter only give rise to mockery at best.
Fur removal between the knees, observed in a single farm of young rabbits, is even more shocking: held upside down and wedged between the legs of the fur plucker, whilst its legs are held in one hand and the other hand plucks the fur out...
