I’m calling it… wild rabbit is one of the best food sources for dogs.

Of course, some peeps wont agree but I reckon there’s a pretty compelling argument from a nutrition, welfare and environmental perspective.

…But not all rabbits are created equal and there’s some important info you need to know.

Ethical and Welfare Considerations

Guys… if you take one thing away from this article, or even the whole website. Please, please, please draw a big fat line between farmed rabbits and wild rabbits.

Rabbit farming in Australia seems to have flown under the radar in the Shitty Animal Welfare Practice Stakes. It’s no better than caged and battery chickens. I’ve included a link at the bottom from Sustainable Table that outlines the big difference between farmed and wild rabbit.

Here’s an example of a rabbit farm in Australia 👇

Also, breeding rabbits in a country that already has such a monumental rabbit population problem seems pretty douchey to me 🤷‍♀️

Ever since I’ve had some success selling our Wild Rabbit products – I’ve had a few suppliers come up saying they too have ‘wild’ rabbit products they can supply to me… Only when I’ve seen the product, I can tell they are 100% NOT wild rabbit 😩

HOT TIP: If you see a rabbit fur product that is white, black, caramel, patchy or anything that looks like it’s the colour of a pet rabbit – it’s been farmed and is NOT wild.

Wild rabbits are the speckly, grubby brown seen below.

With the meat, obviously it’s much harder to tell but wild rabbits are usually smaller and leaner than farmed rabbits. They’re also much harder to find.

When it comes to animal welfare, there’s just no question that Wild Rabbit are one of the best options. They hop around doing their rabbity thing – wrecking crops, digging holes and rooting like… well rabbits – so they probably have quite a delightful life 🤣…..Then one night, with no warning and no fear it’s all over with a fast, clean shot to the head.

That sure beats living your whole life in a cage with no fresh air, sunshine or socialisation 🤷‍♀️

Nutrition

Wild rabbit meat has the highest protein ratio compared to chicken, pork, turkey, duck, fish, lamb or beef. It also an excellent source of vitamins, minerals and trace elements. Rabbit meat is high in vitamins B3 and B12, phosphorus, potassium and selenium.

It’s low in fat but contains a fantastic balance of fatty acids being richer in omega 3 than chicken or pork.

Environmental Benefits

Feral rabbits compete with native wildlife, damage vegetation and degrade the land. They ringbark trees and shrubs, and prevent regeneration by eating seeds and seedlings.

Their impact often increases during drought and immediately after a fire, when food is scarce and they eat whatever they can.

Australia is home to over 150 million wild rabbits (which is why I think farming them is so ridiculous). Most control methods are pretty inefficient so it sits well to find an end use for their meat and hides.

Introducing ‘Wild Rabbit’ dog treats

So… after all of that – how do we source our Wild Rabbit?

Well, a friend of ours is an avid hunter and helps local farmers by cleaning up their feral animals. Mostly he shoots foxes during lambing season and also but does rabbit control at other times.

And yes, he is the reason we have such a stupid amount of orphan lambs at our place 🤣🤦‍♀️

So back to the rabbits…We figured we could pay him for the rabbits and use the meat (and fur) for treats… Because before that, the carcasses were just chucked into a burn pit.

So now, instead of the whole thing being wasted – we use absolutely everything we can. The only parts we don’t use are the head and the organs. It’s all available- literally from their ears to their tails – and all the healthy meaty parts too. Check out the Wild Rabbit on the Shop Page here.

These treats come to you from wild animals with absolutely no preservatives or ‘treatments’ – they’re exactly as you’d find in the wild, only dehydrated for your convenience.

Harvest & Dehydration Process:

• These rabbits are sourced from local vegetable farms where no poisons are used.
• During the harvest and butchering process, all rabbits are assessed for signs of illness and discarded if there are any signs of sickness or parasites.
• The segmented rabbits are frozen for 6 weeks prior to dehydrating (this is the current recommendation for parasite eradication)
• The rabbit meat is dehydrated at 75 degrees, which is the current human consumption standard for the removal of harmful bacteria. The length of dehydration depends on the cut getting dried.

The above is a transparent description of our risk mitigation in relations to pathogens & parasites. This is over and above the standards for human food consumption, however customers need to be aware that these are wild, natural products. We use no preservatives – including no chemicals, irradiation or other methods of sterilisation. Please consider this when deciding if these treats are right for your dog.

Links 👇

“Not all Rabbits are Created Equal” – Sustainable Table

Gully Road Wild Rabbit Dog Treats