Can Rabbits Still Be Farmed? An Analysis of the Advantages of Rabbit Farming Under the Impact of COVID-19

Rabbit meat is a food that people enjoy, but due to the impact of COVID-19, the demand for rabbit meat has dropped considerably. Many farmers have suffered heavy losses. Can rabbits still be farmed under the impact of COVID-19? What are the advantages of raising rabbits?

1. Can rabbits still be farmed?

Rabbits can be farmed; most rabbits do not fall into the category of wild animals. Therefore, rabbit farming will not be affected by the ban on wild animals. However, rabbit farming and sales have been greatly affected. Taking Chongqing as an example, as of the end of February, Chongqing's rabbit sales volume fell by 71.58% year-on-year and 67.06% month-on-month; rabbit output value fell by 84.28% year-on-year and 78.61% month-on-month. In January 2020, the loss compared with the same period last year was 136 million yuan, and the loss in February reached 127 million yuan.

2. What are the advantages of raising rabbits?

Rabbit meat has fresh, tender and delicate muscle fibers and is easy to digest and absorb, making it more suitable for the elderly, children, people with poor appetite and those with weak digestive function. From the above, it can be seen that rabbit meat is more nutritious than beef, chicken, mutton and pork, but its price is not as high as that of beef, mutton and pork. Rabbit meat also has the following advantages:

1. Health-protecting meat: Rabbit meat has a high protein content. It contains the eight essential amino acids that the human body cannot synthesize, especially a high content of lysine. This complete protein is the main nutrient that ensures the normal development of human tissues and organs, and experts therefore call it “health-protecting meat”.

2. Brain-boosting meat: Rabbit meat is low in fat and also very low in cholesterol. It is rich in unsaturated fatty acids that the human body cannot synthesize, especially lecithin, and is easily digested and absorbed. It is an important nutrient for supplementing human brain tissue cells, helps strengthen the brain and improve intelligence, is a high-quality food for children, and can also help prevent Alzheimer's disease. Experts therefore call it “brain-boosting meat”.

3. Beauty meat: Rabbit meat is rich in B vitamins, especially niacin. It can not only promote the conversion and synthesis of other nutrients, but also eliminate dermatitis, prevent rough skin, and make the skin delicate and smooth. Experts praise it as “beauty meat”.

4. Delaying aging: Rabbit meat is highly nutritious and low in calories. Its high nutritional value is highlighted by its relatively high biological value and rich unsaturated fatty acids. Rabbit meat is low in fat and low in cholesterol, so its calories are lower than those of other meats. Research has confirmed that if calorie intake is restricted while ensuring the essential nutrients needed by the human body, aging can be delayed.

5. Body-building meat: Rabbit meat is rich in minerals, especially calcium. It is crucial to the normal development of fetuses, infants and young children. Calcium deficiency can easily lead to bone softening, and in severe cases rickets, so pregnant women, children and the elderly who often eat rabbit meat can maintain healthy bone growth and keep their physique strong and fit.

6. Nutritious meat for special patients: Rabbit meat can both ensure the high nutrients needed by the human body and avoid increasing deposits in blood vessels due to the intake of too much saturated fat, and can prevent arteriosclerosis. Therefore, rabbit meat is an ideal food for patients with hypertension, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, obesity and diabetes, and is a meat whose development is advocated in the “China National Nutrition Improvement Action Plan”.

7. Safe meat: Meat rabbits do not have infectious diseases such as disease No. 5, foot-and-mouth disease and avian influenza; there is no dioxin, no lean meat powder, no yellow-fat rabbits and no fast-grown rabbits, so please feel at ease eating rabbit meat, and so on.