Rabbit Group

Conventional French rabbit production is structured and technical. It is organized within an interprofession (CLIPP) which has a strategic plan and in association with the European Rabbit Association. Today, the main challenges of the sector are focused on a) animal welfare since new European regulations are expected in response to European citizens' requests to stop raising animals in cages and b) to solve the viral hemorrhagic disease (VHD) that has been rampant as a new variant since 2010.

The rabbit group is a multidisciplinary working group that includes scientists from INRAE and other institutes (CNRS, ANSES), professors (ENVT, ISARA) and industry partners. Its mission is to monitor the sector and its actors and the research that is led in the field. The group meets at least once a year and periodically invites actors from other sectors to participate and share their experiences on the subjects treated during the meetings.

The group reviews the state-of-the-art in research (priorities, key results) and  the current economic and health situation. It produces reviews on the state-of-knowledge on rabbits or its farming such as the book Le lapin: de la biologie à l'élevage,2015, T. Gidenne (ed.), Quae éditions, Paris, 288 pages. The group leads cross-disciplinary reflections on topics of interest to the industry such as working in cuniculture (2015), health indicators (2016), innovations on rabbit housing (2017), animal welfare (2018), the diversity of the sectors (2019), group housing of rabbits (2020), the willingness to pay (2021).

It participates in INRAE inter-group industry studies on agricultural issues and their promotion through seminars such as "Agroecology and markets" or publications accessible on INRAE's Industry and Research web site.

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