The Army, Wabbits and Fashion!

Yesterday’s newspapers carried a story - Indian army turns to fashion gurus for Himalayan kit. India's top designers have taken up the challenge to produce clothing to protect soldiers deployed on the world's highest battlefield in the Himalayas, where cold claims more lives than combat.

The highlight was that they were planning to use angora wool, which is supposed to be eight times warmer than sheep wool. Angora wool is no ordinary wool and people will be surprised to know it is made from the super-soft hair of the Angora rabbit.

Yes, a rabbit! The Angora rabbit is a variety of domestic rabbit bred for its long, soft hair. They are believed to have originated in Turkey, along with the Angora cat and Angora goat. The rabbits were popular pets with French royalty in the mid 1700s, and spread to other parts of Europe by the end of the century.

Though the rabbits are from Turkey, the French without a doubt are given credit for seeing the commercial possibilities of the Angora wool into yarn. Legend has it around 1723, there were some sightseeing French sailors who pulled into a Turkish port called Angora, now known as Ankara in modern day Turkey. It was in this town where they saw native women wearing very beautiful shawls that were like no other that they had seen. The fineness and silkiness quite surpassed the shawls in their country of France. They inquired about the fine wool in the shawls and much to their surprise found it to be from the Angora rabbit. Thus the sailors secured some of the rabbits to take back to France.

France was not the only country to visualize the possibilities of this excellent fiber. England very shortly followed suit. England probably did the most transporting of the Angoras to other countries including Germany, Spain, Japan, and various European countries.

According to UN Agency - Food and Agriculture Organization (FOA): World output of angora wool is now estimated at 2 750 tonnes, Europe produces about 350-400 tonnes a year. However, China is the leader, at 1500-2000 tonnes a year. Japan produces 50-60 tonnes a year. Small quantities are also produced in Argentina, the Republic of Korea. India produces 40 tonnes of angora a year and may still have to import supplies to cater to the defence forces. Angora wool is used to make sweaters, baby clothes, mittens, as well as for wool-blend textiles and hats. Angora wool is also 30 times or more the price of normal wool. It comes third in world wool production as seen below.

World production of animal fibres (from Leeder et al 1998).

Animal Source World Production (tons)
Sheep fine wool 100,000
Goat mohair 25,000
Rabbit angora 8,500

There are four to five generally accepted
breeds of the Angora rabbit. In addition to the wool on the rabbit's body, there are furnishings on the face and ears as well. This breed is more common as a pet because of the facial features that give it a puppy dog or teddy bear look. There are many recognized colors in this breed including but not limited to: white, black, blue, chocolate, fawn, tortoise, chinchilla, and chestnut.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), promote rabbit farming as a good industry for underdeveloped countries because rabbits breed quickly and provide inexpensive meat rich in protein. The FAO has spent over 10 years supporting the concept of backyard rabbitries as examples of sustainable development with extensive programs in 10 countries in Africa, South America, and the Caribbean. The conditions of these rabbit farms are similar to that of chicken battery farms. These rabbits are kept in semi-darkness because they are albino.

On average the Angora rabbit can live to 5 years or more and is farmed in highly intensive factory farms. Most rabbits are shorn every 90–100 days, with hand scissors or electric shears. Some rabbits can yield a satisfactory amount of quality hair for 8–10 years, yet the highest quality comes from does at 6–9 months (at which point they are usually killed). In China, with its annual production of 20 million rabbits, they are generally slaughtered quite young, after the second or third clipping. The meat is then sold across the world.

Rabbit meat consumption is a secular custom in the Mediterranean area. It goes back to 1000 BC when Phoenicians are said to have discovered wild rabbits in North Africa and Spain and the Romans spread them throughout their empire. Today, rabbit meat is a delicacy in most Mediterranean countries, from the famous French "Lapin à la provençale," to Italy's "Coniglio alla cacciatora". The town of Naples, in the South of Italy, is said to be the world's biggest consumer of rabbit meat at 15 kg/year per inhabitant. Among Arab countries, Egypt ranks as number one in rabbit consumption at 1.5 kg/year per capita. (Source: The UN Food and Agriculture Organization). The rabbit skins are also then tanned and made into garment accessories and gloves which are sold at premium prices.

Humans' relationship with the rabbit was first recorded by th e Phoenicians over 1,000 years BC, when they termed the Iberian Peninsula ‘i-shephan-im’ (literally, ‘the land of the rabbit’),which the Romans converted to the Latin form, "Hispania," and hence the modern word "Spain."

The Rabbit however remains immortalized world over - not for its wool, skin or meat, but through icons like Bugs Bunny, the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland and the ever famous Play Boy Bunny logo. I think i'll go get myself some wabbit wool this winter, it might be the new fashion fad instead of army fatigues.

I AM A WABBIT!!!!