It is generally believed that the Rabbit was introduced into Britain sometime around 1066 when the Normans invaded Britain. It is however possible that the Romans who had domesticated the rabbit in the 1st century BC and kept them in walled gardens called leporia may have introduced some. There have even been fossil remains found that suggest rabbits may have been around as much as 20000 years ago!

Wild rabbits occur in most but not all parts of the world there being some 25 different species.However the Old World Rabbit species Oryctolagus is the origin of all domestic rabbit breeds. As a result of selected breeding there are now some fifty plus breeds and around eighty varieties to chose from!

There are 4 main groups of rabbit :-

Normal Fur  such as the Chinchilla, Havana, New Zealand and Sable