The American Rabbit Breeders Association boasts a membership of about 30,000, but most of those members are interested primarily in show and do not market their product for meat. Although the ARBA now recognizes 45 breeds of rabbit, the New Zealand White accounts for the vast majority of the commercial meat production in this country. The Californian is a distant second, and a few other breeds make up the balance. There is a serious problem hindering the rabbit industry. Producers are reluctant to expand operations because there are so few processing facilities, and they fear losing their market.
Processors are reluctant to expand into the rabbit area because they fear an inconsistent supply.
Each is waiting for the other in this Catch-22 situation. In recent months, the Mountain Pride Cooperative has been formed to try to solve this dilemma. Located at Mt. Lake Park in Garrett County Maryland, the cooperative has membership from Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and North Carolina. Although membership numbers are larger, about 35 producers are actively marketing through the cooperative. Country Pride Meats of Friendsville, Md., is the processor, and it's operation is inspected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.