Belgian Hares
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Introduction
A unique breed of rabbit weighing between 6 to 9.5 pounds at maturity, the Belgian Hare greatly resembles a wild American hare, though it is in fact a domestic rabbit (and can't interbreed with wild hares). In America, it comes in one color, Rufus Red, which is a deep red shade with wavy black ticking. In other countries, the Belgian Hare also comes in Black and Tan and Red-Eyed White (REW). The American Livestock Breeds Conservatory considers Belgian Hares to be threatened, which means that there are fewer than 100 annual registrations in the United States and the estimated global population is less than 1,000.
History of the Hare
The year 1898 was a start of a time period in history that was probably the single most drastic moment in the history of the rabbit in America. This year was the start of the Belgian hare boom. The Belgian hare dates back to the early part of the 18th century, it was bred by Belgian rabbit breeders, to produce a practical meat rabbit, that was also handsome. This produced a rabbit that they called the "leporine." It is unsure exactly what this leporine looked like, but Mr. Crabtree, a breeder who was alive in the 1900’s and experienced the Belgian hare boom says that In body color, they were distinguishable at a glance from a Belgian, being of a light grayish cinnamon color. There were some black in their fur, but it was not ticking, which is the black end of the hairs, but rather the middle of the hairs, and nothing like what the standard calls for.
Around 1881, the leporine was exported from Belgium to England, and renamed the "Belgian Hare." At first, the English continued to breed for the meat aspect of the rabbit, but soon they began to compete in small shows and a non-meat type was needed. The first Belgian hare standards were written in 1882. To help gain more popularity, the English began to breed for a racy shaped rabbit, similar to the wild English hare. A revised standard was printed in 1889.
In 1888, Mr. E.M. Hughes from Albany, N.Y. brought the very first Belgian hares to American turf. Along with Mr. W.N. Richardson and Mr. G.W. Fenton promoted and exhibited the Belgian hares at small shows across the country. Shortly after, the first rabbit club of America was started and called the “American Belgian Hare Association.” This association lasted a little over a year, because the distance between members made a quorum difficult to reach. A second club, the "National Belgian Hare Club of America" was started in 1897 with their headquarters were in Colorado. The Belgian hare continued to pick up popularity and hares fetched prices of $500 to $1000 each and this was at a time when labor earned $.10 to $.15 per hour. The center of the Belgian hare popularity was Los Angeles, because the weather was especially beneficial to the hare. In 1898, there were almost 60,000 Belgian hares in southern California alone, with the numbers constantly rising.
In Hagar’s Pavilion, Los Angeles, California, on February 8th, 9th and 10th, 1900, the National Belgian Hare Club of America held it very first show. This show was very good for the breeders involved in the showing, raising the prices. According to one exhibitor, F.D. Guttery “…the value of the winners rose at once. I was in the midst of the fray, and these are the facts. The owner of the winning doe International Champion refused $750, while the owner of the champion buck refused all offers. Stud fee to the buck was boosted from $25 to $50 and dates booked months ahead. Another breeder quickly boosted his price from $500 to $1,000. A lesser buck sold for $500, and several six-week olds sold for $50 each. The best American Bred Doe won a $50 prize, and her littermate sold for $340. These prices are not surprising, as often the animals were earning $200 to $300 per month. Eventually, the supply of rabbits caught up with the demand, and the Belgian hare boom finally ended.
Links
- American Belgian Hare Club
- British Rabbit Counsel standard for Belgian Hares
- American Livestock Breeder's Conservatory Belgian Hare Page
