American Rabbits were popular animals up until the 1950s, kept for their
fur and
meat. As late as 1949, Americans (both Blue and White) were listed among the five or six most popular and most ideal rabbits to raise commercially for meat and fur. Since the development of the commercial rabbit breeds, such as the Californian and New Zealand, and the collapse of the domestic fur market, the Americans have been pretty much ignored by the commercial market. Following a population contraction in the 1980s, they are now among the rarest breeds of rabbits in North America. In 2005, when rabbit breeds were added to the American Livestock Breed Conservancy, Conservancy Priority List, Americans were listed among the rarest 'Critical' category. The White variety was especially in danger of being dropped from the ARBA's active role in 2004, due to lack of representation at the annual ARBA convention. Since then, the American Rabbit has undergone a resurgence in population, and in 2012 ALBC shifted the American Rabbit from 'Critical' to the less-endangered 'Threatened' category. Among the significant events leading to the revival of the breed was the dedicated effort of breeders to ship breeding stock across the United States, and the discovery of a line of White American Rabbits among a Hutterite farming community in Alberta, Canada. This has led to an increased interest in the American Rabbit as a heritage or homestead rabbit breed. ==See also==