The human
population growth in developed countries is stabilizing while that of
developing countries including Nigeria is still increasing rapidly. Thus, the
search for alternative sources of protein to meet up the population challenge
is imperative. Economic indices indicate that as this population trend
continues, more people are to be fed. Agricultural outputs needs to be
increased rather than through food importation into such countries (Allen,
1993). In order to maximize food production and meet protein requirements in
Nigeria, viable options need to be explored and evaluated (Owen et al., 2008).
Among such alternatives is the use of livestock species that are yet to play a
major role in animal production within these countries.

Fast-growing
livestock such as rabbits possess a number of features that might be of
advantage in the small holder subsistence – type integrated farming in
developing countries. Rabbit farming in Nigeria is faced with myriad of
problems, which have resulted to a gross shortage of meat to meet up the
population challenge in our country (Nworgu, 2007). The growth rate of the
Nigerian agricultural sector is below the potentials of natural and human
resources due to high cost ofagricultural inputs, poor funding of agriculture,
inadequate functional infrastructural facilities, inconsistencies of government
agricultural policies, inadequate private sector participation, poor mechanized
farming and little or no adoption of some simple agricultural technologies
developed by scientists (Nworgu, 2007). In Nigeria, consumption of animal
protein remains low at about 6.0-8.4 g/head/day which are far below the 13.5g
per day prescribed by the WHO (Egbunike, 1997).

Rabbit
production is a veritable way of alleviating animal protein deficiency in Nigeria
(Ajala and Balogun, 2004). The rabbit has immense potentials and good
attributes which include high growth rate, high efficiency in converting forage
to meat, short gestation period, and high prolificacy, relatively low cost of
production, high nutritional quality of rabbit meat which includes low fat,
sodium, and cholesterol levels. It also has a high protein level of about 20.8%
and its consumption is bereft of cultural and religious biases (Biobaku and
Oguntona, 1997). The presence of caecal microbes enables the rabbit to digest
large amounts of fibrous feed as most non ruminant species cannot (Taiwo et
al., 1999).