In the beginning was the wild rabbit

If we examine the ethology of oryctolagus cuniculus, it quickly becomes clear to what extent this animal is a stay-at-home. This is what encourages it to breed in reserved spaces known as rabbit ‘warrens’ (possibly from the Old French warenne, meaning an enclosed area), a term that lies at the origin of its vernacular name.

But Peter Rabbit has nevertheless accompanied settlers, missionaries and great adventurers on their journeys. In the Middle Ages, the species was already common in many places in the Western world, where it was hunted, cooked and skinned for its fur. And it was also profitable. In England, for instance, where it had proved difficult to acclimatise it, rabbitting (breeding and trading in rabbits) flourished until the beginning of the 18th century.
 
The rabbit, which also has the particularity of being able to reproduce very quickly – and in large numbers -, ensures a continuous availability of meat with a high level of animal protein. With an average of 25 young a year for ground-reared rabbits, and more than 46 young rabbits in the case of cage breeding, it is one of the most prolific mammals. But multitude doesn’t necessarily go hand in hand with plenitude. On the contrary. Man may well have thought that he had a sound grip on the animal, but we are forced to note that it is capable of causing a great deal of damage: “In Roman times, there was already an attempt to get rid of the rabbit”, says Lucienne Strivay. “Fences, traps, all sorts of weapons, poisons, and different techniques existed, with varying success in each case”. At the end of the 18th century, in France and in England, the animal moved to the category of “pest”: “Measures were taken against it, like the Ground Game Act in Great Britain”, continues Catherine Mougenot, “which authorised the use of the gin trap, a fearsome instrument originally used for bears and even smugglers...”

At the same time, the rabbit entered into the imaginative world of children. Oryctolagus cuniculus was accepted into the family and became a pet. This didn’t however prevent the development of ‘rational’ breeding, known as cuniculture, based on increasingly sophisticated selection. Bred on a small scale on the one hand and industrially on the other, Peter has been bred in all sorts of ways. And the ways in which he is depicted are far from being the same everywhere…