Chinese Rabbits to Help Thai Poverty Reduction Program

A hundred rabbits raised in Sichuan Province, southwest China, will be sent to Thailand at the end of July for use in a poverty elimination program.

The animals were chosen from among more than 5,000 rabbits bred by Ren Xuping and his family, who live in Dayi County.

The chosen rabbits are undergoing necessary inspection and quarantine, and other export procedures.

The rabbits will first be sent to the Thai imperial palace and be kept by children of royal families before being sent to less-developed areas, according to Monday's Beijing Morning Post.

In Thailand, people also raise rabbits, but get a low economic return because of the inferior local strains.

The decision to introduce Dayi rabbits into Thailand was made at an information briefing sponsored by Heifer Project International in Little Rock, Arkansas, the United States, early this year.

Dayi rabbits were especially favored by many participants in the event because of their good quality and high economic value.

To help Dayi rabbits acclimatize to Thailand, Ren Xuping and his wife will go to Thailand along with their rabbits at the end of this month.

( July 9, 2002)