51
chaRac ERiSa ion o WilD Rabbi commERcial gamE aRmS in Spain
GonZáLeZ-ReDonDo P., SánCHeZ-MaR íneZ R.
Dep . Ciencias Ag o o es ales, Escuela Técnica Supe io de Ingenie ía Ag onómica, Uni e sidad de Se illa, 41013 Se iLLa, Spain.
Abs ac : The aim o his esea ch is o cha ac e ise he wild abbi (O yc olagus cuniculus) comme cial game
a ms in Spain using a iables ela ed o s uc u e, managemen and ma ke ing. To his end, a s uc u ed
su ey was adminis e ed in 2009 o 21 p i a ely-owned a ms. This subsec o was an a e age age o 13. The
a e age size o he b eeding s ock o he a ms was 431 does and 64 bucks. Eigh y- i e pe cen o he a ms
kep all o pa o he b eeding s ock in cages and 38.1% used a i icial insemina ion. All he a ms ca ied
ou b eede sel - eplacemen , 4.8% by buying wild abbi s om o he a ms, whe eas 38.1% cap u ed wild
abbi s o his pu pose. Nine een pe cen o he wild abbi game a ms also p oduced o he game species,
mainly ed-legged pa idge (Alec o is u a), pheasan (Phasianus colchicus) and quail (Co u nix co u nix).
Fou een pe cen o he a ms supplied wild abbi s o be used as p ey o be eleased in p og ammes o he
conse a ion o endange ed p eda o s, and 38.1% supplied b eeding abbi s o be used by o he a ms o
eplace culled animals. Eigh y-six pe cen o he a ms o e ed he se ice o anspo ing he animals om
he a m o he hun ing g ounds o hei clien s, and 14.3% ad ised cus ome s on how o success ully elease
and es ock hun ing g ounds. Se en y-six pe cen o he a ms ma ke ed hei p oduc s h oughou Spain,
and 38.1% expo ed wild abbi s o neighbou ing coun ies, mainly Po ugal and F ance. Fo y- h ee pe cen
o he a ms ad e ised hemsel es in hun ing magazines, 19.1% p omo ed hemsel es by a ending li es ock
and game ai s, and 38.1% had hei own websi es. In conclusion, his al e na i e abbi p oduc ion sys em
cons i u es a well-es ablished subsec o in Spain, despi e being only 2 decades old. I also seems ha i has
no ye eached i s de elopmen ma u i y. I shows wide di e si y in e ms o a m size and s uc u e, as well
as ma ke ing and p omo ional ac i i ies.
Key Wo ds: wild abbi , a ming sys ems, al e na i e li es ock, game a ming, ma ke ing.
in RoDuc ion
The wild abbi (O yc olagus cuniculus) is a game species aised on a ms in coun ies such as Spain, F ance,
and Po ugal (A hu , 1989; González-Redondo, 2006). In Spain, i s cap i e b eeding o hun ing pu poses s a ed
ecen ly, a he end o he 80's and beginning o he 90's, a e widesp ead mo ali ies wi hin wild popula ions
caused by he ou b eak o abbi haemo hagic disease in 1988 (A güello e al., 1988; Villa ue e e al., 1995). This
ac gene a ed an inc ease in demand o his species bo h o es ocking o hun ing p ese es (González-Redondo,
2006) and o i s use in eco e y plans o endange ed species ha p ey on he abbi , such as he Spanish Impe ial
Eagle (Aquila adalbe i) and Ibe ian Lynx (Lynx pa dina) (Fe e and Neg o, 2004; Gue e o-Casado e al., 2013). This
demand led o he de elopmen o a game a m subsec o ha is g owing apidly (González-Redondo, 2006). In ac ,
in 2007 he e we e 115 egis e ed a ms aising wild abbi s in Spain, while in 2011 he e we e 237 (Minis e io de
Ag icul u a, Alimen ación y Medio Ambien e, 2013).
The p oduc ion sys ems in wild abbi a ms di e g ea ly because hei es ablishmen has aken place unde
2he e ogeneous models. On he one hand, wild abbi s a e aised in enclosu es o a ying dimensions whe e he
animals li e in colonies. Al hough he hun ing quali y o he abbi s ob ained unde his semi-ex ensi e sys em is high
Wo ld
Rabbi
Science
Wo ld Rabbi Sci. 2014, 22: 51-58
doi:10.4995/w s.2014.1213
© WRSA, UPV, 2003
Co espondence: P. González-Redondo, [email p o ec ed]. Recei ed July 2011- Accep ed Oc obe 2013.
h p://dx.doi.o g/10.4995/w s.2014.1213
González-Redondo P. & Sánchez-MaR ínez R.
52 Wo ld Rabbi Sci. 22: 51-58
(Gue e o-Casado e al., 2013), i has disad an ages mainly ela ed o he di icul y o ca ying ou e ec i e sani a y
and ep oduc i e con ols. This leads o low p oduc i i y in e ms o abbi s sold pe doe and yea (Bo ego, 1997;
A enas, 2002; González-Redondo, 2002; A enas e al., 2006). On he o he hand, in an a emp o o e come hese
p oblems, wild abbi a e also aised unde sys ems in which ep oduc ion is ca ied ou in cages. These in ensi e
a ms use echnology and equipmen om abbi mea a ming, e.g. cages, balanced eeds, e c. (Bo ego, 1997;
González-Redondo, 2002, 2006), including ba ch managemen and, in some cases, a i icial insemina ion (Dá ila
e al., 2004). Howe e , se e al p oblems de i ed om he s ess-p one beha iou o he wild abbi a ise when his
species is aised in cages (González-Redondo, 2002, 2010; González-Redondo and Zamo a-Lozano, 2008). In bo h
sys ems, ea ing he weaned ki s is ca ied ou in enclosu es o achie e maximum escape eac ion and hun ing
quali y (Bo ego, 1997; González-Redondo, 2002, 2006). Fo hese easons, he wild abbi game a ms display a
wide di e si y o sizes, ma ke ing and ad e ising s a egies, geog aphical a eas o ma ke ing hei p oduc s, and
echnological le els, which emain o be in es iga ed.
Fa m cha ac e isa ion has been widely used in li es ock and game a ming sys ems esea ch (Cas el e al., 2003;
Pa dos e al., 2008; Ruiz e al., 2008; González-Redondo e al., 2010; González-Redondo and Ga cía-Domínguez,
2012). This me hodology has p o en o be a e y use ul ool o enhance knowledge o he p oduc ion subsec o s and
help echnicians and he Adminis a ion make decisions aimed a be e implemen a ion and managemen o a m
suppo p og ammes (Pa dos e al., 2008). Despi e he ele ance o wild abbi game a ms in Spain, un il ecen ly
ew s udies dealing wi h he si ua ion o his subsec o ha e been conduc ed. The e o e, he aim o he p esen s udy
is o cha ac e ise he Spanish comme cial game a ms ha aise wild abbi s, using a iables ela ed o s uc u e,
managemen , ma ke ing and ad e ising. This will p o ide ele an knowledge on his al e na i e abbi a ming
sys em and i s di e si y.
ma ERialS anD mE hoDS
s udy a ea and sample selec ion
The s udy was conduc ed in Spain, as i is one o he mos ele an coun ies in which he wild abbi is aised o
es ocking (González-Redondo, 2006). Sea ching o a ms o ake pa in he su ey was ca ied ou in a ying ways:
public egis e s, en e p ise da abases, p ess ad e isemen s, web sea ches and pe sonal con ac s. All he a me s
ound we e con ac ed and in i ed o pa icipa e in he s udy olun a ily. The sample used consis ed o 21 a ms,
loca ed in 7 egions (Table1) whose s a i ied dis ibu ion was ep esen a i e o he cu en egional dis ibu ion o
he wild abbi game a ms in Spain (Sánchez-Ga cía e al., 2012; Minis e io de Ag icul u a, Alimen ación y Medio
Ambien e, 2013). The sample amoun ed o 10.2% o he 206 egis e ed Spanish a ms aising wild abbi s when he
su ey was conduc ed (Minis e io de Ag icul u a, Alimen ación y Medio Ambien e, 2013). The s udy included only
p i a ely-owned comme cial a ms, hus excluding small abbi ies solely de o ed o sel -supply o hun ing p ese es
ha do no ma ke hei p oduc ion.
Da a collec ion and a iables s udied
The in o ma ion was ob ained by a su ey ca ied ou in summe and au umn 2009 by di ec ly in e iewing he
a me s. The s uc u ed ques ionnai e included 23quali a i e a iables and 3quan i a i e a iables (Tables2 and3),
able 1: Regional dis ibu ion o su eyed wild abbi game a ms.
Region No. %
Andalucía 5 23.8
Galicia 4 19.0
Comunidad Valenciana 5 19.0
Ca aluña 3 14.3
Cas illa y León 2 9.5
Cas illa-La Mancha 2 9.5
A agón 1 4.8
To al 21 100.0
Wild abbi comme cial game a ms in spain
53Wo ld Rabbi Sci. 22: 51-58
belonging o he ollowing g oups: i) yea o es ablishmen ; ii) a m size and b eeding s ock s uc u e; iii) ep oduc i e
managemen ; i ) b eede eplacemen p ac ices; ) a me knowledge o he gene ic ype o he abbi s hey aise;
i) aises game species o he han wild abbi s; ii) o e s p oduc s o he han wild abbi s o es ocking hun ing
p ese es; iii) addi ional se ices o e ed by he a m; ix) ma ke ’s geog aphical a ea; and x) a m ad e ising
p ac ices. These a iables we e selec ed on he basis o a e iew o p e ious knowledge o he wild abbi game a m
subsec o (Bo ego, 1997; A enas, 2002; González-Redondo, 2001, 2002, 2006; A enas e al., 2006).
s a is ical analysis
The mean, s anda d e o , minimum, maximum and coe icien o a ia ion we e calcula ed o age o he a m,
numbe o does, numbe o bucks and doe- o-buck a io a iables in he b eeding s ock. Fo he o he a iables o he
su ey, he pe cen age o a ms showing he a ibu e was calcula ed. The s a is ical analyses we e pe o med using
SPSS .15.0 so wa e (SPSS Inc., 2006).
RESul S anD DiScuSSion
This esea ch p o ides he i s sys ema ic cha ac e isa ion o he Spanish wild abbi comme cial game a ms using
a iables ela ed o hei s uc u e, managemen , ma ke ing and ad e ising ac i i ies.
Fa m size and b eeding s ock s uc u e
All he a ms we e comple e-cycle. The a e age numbe o b eeding does a he wild abbi a ms (Table 2) was lowe
han ha o he in ensi e abbi mea a ms in Spain (n>540 b eeding does; Ramon e al., 2003). This mode a e
size sugges s ha mos o hese a ms a e amily un, bea ing in mind ha a one-man wo k uni can manage a
abbi mea a m o some 500 o 800 b eeding does (Roca, 2009). The dis ibu ion o he wild abbi game a ms
acco ding o he numbe o does in he b eeding s ock
(Figu e 1) closely i he s a i ied dis ibu ion o he
abbi mea a ms in Spain acco ding o he numbe
o doe cages (Minis e io de Medio Ambien e y Medio
Ru al y Ma ino, 2008). The a e age numbe o bucks
in he b eeding s ock was 64.2 (Table2). Al hough he
o icial s a is ics a e inaccu a e and highly a iable, he
a e age numbe o does and bucks in he b eeding
s ock ag ees wi h he census in game a ms o he
pe iod 2009-2010 (Sánchez-Ga cía e al., 2012). The
a e age doe- o-buck a io was in he same ange as
ha o mea abbi s submi ed o in ensi e o semi-
in ensi e hy hms using na u al ma ing (doe- o-buck
a io o 7-8; Lebas e  al., 1996). Howe e , his a io
can be conside ed low, gi en ha se e al a ms used
a i icial insemina ion and ha when mea abbi s a e
submi ed o a i icial insemina ion, he doe- o-buck
a io inc eases (Lebas e al., 1996).
able 2: Age o a m, size o b eeding s ock and doe- o-buck a io o wild abbi game a ms (n=21).
Va iable mean±SE min max CV (%)
Age o a m (y ) 12.7±1.7 2 34 61.5
Size o he b eeding s ock
B eeding does (n) 431.2±84.5 40 1400 89.8
B eeding bucks (n) 64.2±15.5 8 250 110.7
Doe- o-buck a io (n) 8.1±1.3 2.5 27.1 75.8
SE: S anda d e o . CV: Coe icien o a ia ion.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Pe cen age o a ms
Numbe o b eeding does
23.81
9.52
23.81
14.29
28.57
20-99 100-199 200-399 400-799 >799
Figu e 1: Pe cen age o wild abbi game a ms acco ding
o he numbe o does in he b eeding s ock (n=21).
González-Redondo P. & Sánchez-MaR ínez R.
54 Wo ld Rabbi Sci. 22: 51-58
ep oduc i e managemen
Wild abbi game a ms kep he b eeding s ock in enclosu es o in cages (Bo ego, 1997; González-Redondo, 2002).
Rea ing in enclosu es has disad an ages due o he di icul y o ca ying ou e ec i e sani a y and ep oduc i e
con ols (Mye s and Poole, 1961, 1962), and he agg essi eness among animals (Mye s and Poole, 1961), leading
o low p oduc i i y in e ms o abbi s sold pe doe and yea (A enas, 2002; González-Redondo, 2002; A enas e al.,
2006). In an a emp o o e come hese p oblems, wild abbi s a e also b ed in cages using echnology and equipmen
om abbi mea a ming (Bo ego, 1997; González-Redondo, 2002, 2006). Thus, a high p opo ion o he a ms in
his s udy kep all o pa o he b eeding s ock in cages unde ba ch managemen (Table3), some hing ha illus a es
he in ensi ica ion expe ienced by his subsec o .
In cage-b ed wild abbi a ming, a ele an p opo ion o b eede s emain un e ile and na u al ma ing managemen
is di icul due o he s ess-p one beha iou o his species (González-Redondo, 2003). In an a emp o o e come
his p oblem, nea ly 40% o he a ms in his s udy used a i icial insemina ion (Table3) ei he ou inely o only
expe imen ally, as his echnique has only ecen ly been de eloped o wild abbi s (Dá ila e al., 2004).
B eede eplacemen p ac ices
All he a ms ca ied ou sel - eplacemen ; almos 5% did so occasionally using wild abbi s bough a o he a ms,
and nea ly 40% cap u ed abbi s in he wild o his pu pose (Table3). These 2la e al e na i es minimise inb eeding
and incipien domes ica ion isks (González-Redondo, 2004).
able 3: F equencies o he a iables ela ed o managemen , ma ke ing and ad e ising and p omo ion ac i i ies o
he wild abbi game a ms (n=21).
Va iable Pe cen age o a ms
Rep oduc i e managemen
Rep oduc ion in cages 85.7
Ba ch managemen 85.7
A i icial insemina ion 38.1
B eede eplacemen p ac ices
Sel eplacemen 100.0
Wi h b eede s om o he a ms 4.8
Wi h abbi s cap u ed in he wild 38.1
Gene ic ype
Know wha wild abbi subspecies is being aised 38.1
Game species o he han pa idges
Raises species o he han wild abbi s 19.1
Raises ed-legged pa idges (Alec o is u a) 19.1
Raises pheasan s (Phasianus colchicus) 14.3
Raises quails (Co u nix co u nix)9.5
Specialised supply
Sells abbi s o conse a ion o endange ed species 14.3
Sells b eeding abbi s o o he a ms 38.1
Addi ional se ices o e ed
O e s se ice o anspo ing abbi s 85.7
Ad ises clien s on how o es ock 14.3
Sells sexed abbi s 52.4
Has own hun ing p ese e 9.5
Ma ke geog aphical a ea
Full coun y ma ke a ea 76.2
Expo s wild abbi s 38.1
Ad e ising and p omo ion p ac ices
Ad e ises i s ac i i y in he game p ess 42.9
P omo es i sel a ai s 19.1
Has own websi e 38.1
Wild abbi comme cial game a ms in spain
55Wo ld Rabbi Sci. 22: 51-58
Fa me s’ knowledge o he gene ic ype hey aise
Less han 40% o he a me s (Table3) know he gene ic ype o he abbi s hey aise.
Howe e , his knowledge is impo an because he Ibe ian Peninsula is occupied by 2 subspecies o he Eu opean
abbi : O yc olagus cuniculus algi us, dis ibu ed in he sou h-wes iangle, and O yc olagus cuniculus cuniculus,
p esen in he no h-eas a ea (B anco e al., 2000). To a oid he isk o subspecies mixing when a med wild abbi s
a e ansloca ed and eleased in o he wild (Delibes-Ma eos e al., 2008), wild abbi a me s should inc ease hei
e o s o cla i y he subspecies in hei b eeding s ocks. This will undoub edly inc ease cus ome con idence in he
sui abili y o he abbi s o he a ea o be es ocked.
Wild abbi a ms aising o he game species
A i h o he wild abbi game a ms b ed, ea ed and ma ke ed game species o he han wild abbi s (Table3).
Red-legged pa idge (Alec o is u a ), pheasan (Phasianus colchicus ), and quail (Co u nix co u nix ), in his o de ,
we e he mos widesp ead species b ed on he wild abbi a ms, because all o hese a e small game species o
he same ma ke niche (González-Redondo e al., 2010). Howe e , he p opo ion o wild abbi a ms in he p esen
s udy aising game species o he han wild abbi s and, in pa icula , pheasan and quail, was lowe han he same
p opo ions ound by González-Redondo e al. (2010) in he Spanish ed-legged pa idge a ms aising game species
o he han pa idge, as well as by González-Redondo and Ga cía-Domínguez (2012) in he Spanish pheasan a ms
aising game species o he han pheasan . This is mainly due o he ac ha pheasan and quail a e seconda y
p oduc s o he ed-legged a ms (Emp esa de Ges ión Medioambien al, 2007) and because he b eeding and ea ing
echnologies o hese 3bi ds in ega d o ha che y managemen , b ooding and pen- ea ing a e simila (Mane i,
1989; Dalmau, 1994; González-Redondo e al., 2010), bu di e en o hose o abbi s.
supply o he wild abbi a ms
All he a ms in his s udy aised and sold wild abbi s o es ocking hun ing g ounds, as hese a e he ypical p oduc
o he wild abbi game a ms (González-Redondo, 2002). Howe e , es ima es o numbe s o wild abbi s ea ed and
eleased in Spain di e conside ably and a e inaccu a e due o he lack o a eliable, homogeneous eco ding sys em
in place ac oss egions. Thus, i is es ima ed ha some 38 550 wild abbi s a e ea ed pe yea in Spain (Minis e io de
Medio Ambien e y Medio Ru al y Ma ino, 2009). This igu e is conside ably lowe han expec ed, aking in o accoun
ha in Spain he e a e o e 200wild abbi a ms (Minis e io de Ag icul u a, Alimen ación y Medio Ambien e, 2013),
he a e age size o he b eeding s ock (Table2) and he a e age p oduc i i y o his species (Bo ego, 1997; A enas,
2002; González-Redondo, 2002; A enas e al., 2006). In ac , Sánchez-Ga cía e al. (2012) es ima ed a p oduc ion
o o e 225 000 wild abbi s by Spanish game a ms in 2010.
In addi ion o wild abbi s o es ocking as he main p oduc , many a ms ha e di e si ied hei p oduc ion. B eeding
abbi s o o he a ms a e also supplied o he ma ke by almos 40% o he a ms (Table3), as in he 2las decades
many wild abbi s a ms ha e been es ablished which equi e ba ches o animals o he ounda ion o hei b eeding
s ocks o o egula ly eplace culled animals (González-Redondo, 2004). Mo eo e , se e al a ms (14.3%, Table3)
supply wild abbi s o ins i u ions engaged in p og ammes o he conse a ion o endange ed species, such as
he Spanish Impe ial Eagle and Ibe ian Lynx, bo h p eying p e e en ially on he abbi , on which hey ha e become
dependen o su i al (Fe e and Neg o, 2004; Gue e o-Casado e al., 2013).
Addi ional se ices o e ed by he a ms
T anspo ing, elease and es ocking a e no easy o ca y ou due o he wild na u e and s ess-p one beha iou o he
wild abbi (González-Redondo, 1995; Cal e e e al., 1997). Fo his eason, se e al a ms (Table3) ad ise cus ome s
on how o success ully elease and es ock hei hun ing p ese es, al hough in a lowe p opo ion han he ed-
legged pa idge (González-Redondo e al., 2010) and pheasan (González-Redondo and Ga cía-Domínguez, 2012)
game a ms. As in he la e subsec o s, almos all wild abbi a ms o e hei clien s he se ice o anspo ing he
animals om he a m o he hun ing p ese es (Table3). Bo h o hese ep esen a ms’ di e si ica ion s a egies in
o e ing addi ional se ices o clien s. The ele an issue is ha , in a compe i i e en i onmen , hese se ices a ac
new, inexpe ienced landowne s and game manage s.

González-Redondo P. & Sánchez-MaR ínez R.
56 Wo ld Rabbi Sci. 22: 51-58
Hal o he a ms sell he abbi s sexed (Table3), ano he addi ional se ice use ul o cus ome s, as in es ocking he
abbi s mus be eleased in a speci ic sex a io which enables success ul es ablishmen o a colony (Bo ego, 1997).
Less han 10% o he a ms had hei own hun ing p ese e whe e a pe cen age o he abbi s p oduced we e
eleased o be able o sell o ganised hun s (Table3). This con as s wi h he ed-legged pa idge and pheasan
game a ms subsec o s, o which mo e han a hi d (González-Redondo e al., 2010) and hal (González-Redondo
and Ga cía-Domínguez, 2012) o he a ms, espec i ely, a e associa ed wi h a hun ing p ese e ha sa is ies he
demand o in ensi e shoo s. This di e ence is due o he ac ha in game managemen o wild abbi s hei elease
o ca ying ou in ensi e shoo ing is no usual, as in he case o he ed-legged pa idge (González-Redondo e al.,
2010) and pheasan (González-Redondo and Ga cía-Domínguez, 2012).
geog aphic ma ke a ea
A high p opo ion o a ms we e ma ke ing hei p oduc s h oughou he Spanish e i o y (Table3). Acco ding o
egula ions on he p o ec ion o animals du ing anspo (Council o he Eu opean Union, 2005), he maximum
jou ney ime o abbi s makes he Ibe ian Peninsula eachable om mos o he Spanish wild abbi a ms. Thus,
h ee qua e s o he wild abbi a ms sell hei p oduc s ac oss Spain (Table3). This closely ag ees wi h p e ious
epo s on he Spanish ed-legged pa idge (González-Redondo e al., 2010) and pheasan (González-Redondo and
Ga cía-Domínguez, 2012) game a ms.
Nea ly 40% o he a ms expo ed wild abbi s (Table3). This ac i i y was ca ied ou spo adically by some o
hese a ms, and he des ina ions o Spanish wild abbi s we e neighbou ing coun ies: Po ugal and F ance. As
documen ed in he li e a u e, h oughou his o y ee-li ing abbi s ha e been expo ed om hei a ea o o igin and
eleased all o e he wo ld, including Aus alia, New Zealand and o nea ly 600 islands (Shipp e al., 1963; So igue ,
1981; Sand o d, 1992). This end con inues nowadays wi h a med wild abbi s, al hough i is now es ic ed o
neighbou ing coun ies wi h he same auna and simila game managemen s yles. Howe e , his ma ke niche is
cons ained by ed ape o animal heal h easons; e.g., ea o he abbi haemo hagic disease sp eading limi s he
expo o li e abbi s om Spain o es ock hun ing p ese es in F ance (Gibb, 1990). Expo o wild abbi s is also
cons ained by mode n wildli e es o a ion s a egies, which p omo e es ocking using animals om au och honous
popula ions in o de o a oid p oblems caused by gene ic in og ession (González-Redondo, 2002; Delibes-Ma eos
e al., 2008). In addi ion, he maximum au ho ised jou ney ime o abbi s limi s his pa icula ade, because i
makes pa o he po en ial o eign ma ke ou o ange o se e al Spanish game a ms, i manda o y anspo
egula ions a e ollowed (Council o he Eu opean Union, 2005).
Ad e ising and p omo ional ac i i ies
Al hough a signi ican pa o he ou pu supplied by he wild abbi game a ms is sold wi hin hei local en i onmen
and h ough di ec ela ions wi hin he hun ing sec o , p omo ional and ad e ising ac i i ies become necessa y
because o inc eased compe i ion in his speci ic ma ke (González-Redondo, 1999; González-Redondo e al., 2010),
especially in he cu en con ex o he economic c isis (Asociación de C iado es y Ac i idades Cinegé icas Tu ís icas
Andaluzas, 2009). This subsec o closely i ed o ha desc ibed o he Spanish ed-legged pa idge (González-
Redondo e al., 2010) and pheasan (González-Redondo and Ga cía-Domínguez, 2012) game a ms wi h ega d
o ad e ising and p omo ional ac i i ies. Mo e han 40% o he a ms (Table3) ha e ad e ised in he nume ous
hun ing magazines cu en ly published in Spain. Nea ly 40% o he a ms had hei own websi e (Table3), which is
an e icien ool used o p omo e hemsel es and a ac po en ial cus ome s. These websi es a e usually illus a ed
wi h pho og aphs o abbi s and acili ies, which help o enhance cus ome s’ con idence in he quali y o a med
wild abbi s (González-Redondo and Finzi, 2013). Nine een pe cen o he wild abbi a ms p omo ed hemsel es
by a ending some o he nume ous li es ock and game ai s celeb a ed all o e Spain, he lowes p opo ion in
compa ison o he o he ac i i ies (Table3).
es ablishmen and ou look o he subsec o
The Spanish wild abbi game a ms subsec o is only some 2 decades old (Table2, Figu e2), making hem younge
han ed-legged pa idge a ms (González-Redondo e al., 2010) and in ensi e mea abbi a ms (Minis e io de Medio
Wild abbi comme cial game a ms in spain
57Wo ld Rabbi Sci. 22: 51-58
Ambien e y Medio Ru al y Ma ino, 2008). In ac , almos
all he a ms in his s udy ha e been es ablished since
1988 (Figu e 2) as a esul o he demand o abbi s
o es ock as explained in he in oduc ion. Since i s
beginnings, his al e na i e abbi subsec o has g own
apidly (González-Redondo, 2006) and nowadays i is
well es ablished. We sugges ha i migh no ha e
eached i s maximum de elopmen ma u i y ye , being
unlikely o expe ience a sho - e m d op, as can be
in e ed om he cons an a e o ounda ion o a ms
om 1988 o nowadays (Figu e2). In ac , whe eas in
2007 he e we e 115 egis e ed a ms ha aised wild
abbi s in Spain, in 2011 he e we e 237. In con as ,
du ing his pe iod he numbe o a ms aising abbi s
o mea and u pu poses dec eased (Minis e io de
Ag icul u a, Alimen ación y Medio Ambien e, 2013).
concluSion
This epo on he s uc u e, managemen and ma ke ing o he wild abbi comme cial game a ms in Spain shows ha
i is an al e na i e li es ock subsec o which is well es ablished, despi e being only 2decades old. I s cha ac e isa ion
has highligh ed he he e ogenei y o he wild abbi game a ms wi h ega d o a m size, in ensi ica ion le el and
di e si ica ion s a egies ela ed o se ices o e ed o he ma ke .
acknowledgemen s: The au ho s hank he a me s who pa icipa ed in his esea ch o hei kind collabo a ion.
0
5
10
15
20
25
1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005
2010
Numbe o a ms in Spain
Yea o es ablishmen
Figu e 2: Numbe o wild abbi game a ms in Spain
acco ding o he yea o es ablishmen (n=21).
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