Meat Rabbits Are a Serious Farming Opportunity if You Can Get Past the Fluff and Cuteness

There is an integrated farm at the University of Goroka campus run by Heriso Gahekave and a small team. It is an important part of agriculture training for trainee teachers who want to learn practical farming skills and new methods suited to Papua New Guinea conditions.

The UOG Model Farm is also a supplier of rabbits. For several years, the farm has encouraged people to consider cheaper livestock alternatives for food security and small business opportunities, and rabbits have emerged as one of the most practical options for many communities. Yet convincing people to look beyond their cute and fluffy image has not always been easy.

Heriso Gahekave says while many communities are now raising rabbits for meat, others have bought them simply as pets.

“I had stock for display at the Goroka Show and people bought all the rabbits I had,” he said with a chuckle. “Parents bought them because their kids wanted them for pets.”

For the UOG Model Farm, however, rabbits are serious business.

“If you have one buck and five does, you can have a stock of at least 60 meat rabbits a year,” Heriso said.

Rabbits are among the fastest reproducing livestock animals, which is why they are often considered a practical source of meat for small farmers and households. A doe can become pregnant after just one mating, carries her young for only about a month, and can produce litters of several kits multiple times a year under good management. Those young rabbits grow quickly, with common meat breeds reaching harvest size in as little as eight to twelve weeks. This combination of rapid breeding, short growth cycles and modest space requirements means rabbits can provide a steady supply of protein far sooner than larger animals such as cattle or pigs.

Rabbits will eat many vegetables and greens, but experienced farmers warn that not all feed is safe. Serious rabbit farmer Kipo Oreke says pumpkin tips, pumpkins and onions can be harmful, and rabbits often struggle to recover once they have eaten toxic feed.

“They are easy to raise,” he said. “I am now building my stock. I hope to have enough to sell in a few months.”

As food prices rise and communities look for reliable sources of income and protein, the quiet work being done at the UOG Model Farm may prove increasingly valuable. What some still see as a household pet is, for others, becoming a practical pathway to better nutrition, small business growth and more resilient communities.