GRRRR! Our Local Meat Market Rabbit is from China...

No offense intended to anyone of Chinese descent....truly - I have good friends from China.

I was at a "new to me" natural pet store today, chatting up an employee who helped me choose a dehydrated raw snack (Stella and Chewy's "Carnivore Crunch").  She mentioned that one brand of canned cat food was being phased out because they started sourcing their rabbit from China.

On the drive home...had this nagging feeling about that rabbit defrosting in the fridge for the next batch.  Pulled it and damned if there wasn't a small label on the plastic I did not see when I bought it: "China". 

We have an acre in an area of Washington State south of Tacoma my friends call "Developed Sticks".  There are rabbits wandering the yard - yet they get shipped across the Pacific Ocean.  You can get LIVE meat rabbits all day long on Craigslist - yet the meat market imports from China.  The company WholeFoods4Pets.com is right over the mountains east of us....but their website says they are not taking new customers due to a shortage of supply (I even emailed them a week ago and they NEVER answered).  Huh...maybe there is a West Coast Rabbit Shortage I am not aware of?

It just seems silly to ship from Hare Today, on the east coast, all the way out here on the west coast WHEN THERE ARE RABBITS IN THE YARD and all over Craigslist!  I have a bug up my butt about shipping things across a continent when its not some kind of rare "can only be found on the east coast" kind of thing.  Seems wasteful to me.

Time to start butchering our own?  OK - I did not see THAT coming when we started making our own cat food - slaughtering game in our back yard.  Oh, how far I have come from my vegetarian upbringing!

And The Boyfriend is PISSED!  He's calling the meat shop tomorrow to give them a piece of his mind.

We very much prefer grinding our own meat - we don't eat meat OURSELVES we did not grind - that was the original reason we got a grinder to start with.  In fact, it was difficult to find a grinder that was not made in China.

And the cats LOVE the rabbit - but they don't know what "Made in China" means.

Sigh.  I guess we'll stick to poultry.  Or expand to lamb or other animal that walks on hooves?

Just needed to vent.

Yeah, I get where you're coming from.  It's like going north to get south.

I saw some frozen vegetables marked "local".  Uh?

I am going to a whole foods type of store today, they sell fresh rabbit, I'll have to remember to ask them where they get their rabbits.

There just aren't a lot of commercial rabbit farms in the US :dk:. Whereas, in China, they need a small, quiet, clean, easy-to-handle meat source because of the population density there.

It's not legal to sell wild-caught meat for public consumption. Which is why all those rabbits can hop around with impunity outside :tongue2:. If they're selling live meat rabbits on craigslist, see if any of them will do the slaughtering/dressing for you.

Willowy said:

There just aren't a lot of commercial rabbit farms in the US

. Whereas, in China, they need a small, quiet, clean, easy-to-handle meat source because of the population density there.

It's not legal to sell wild-caught meat for public consumption. Which is why all those rabbits can hop around with impunity outside

. If they're selling live meat rabbits on craigslist, see if any of them will do the slaughtering/dressing for you.

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I have learned an amazing amount about the rabbit market in the hours since my last post!   Seems that most of the farms that are out there are in the SE of the US - so I am not in a good regional position.  Rabbit is gaining popularity amongst some foodies - small rabbit farms are on the rise in some states - California being one.  But its for the high end foodie market - $20/lb or more!

But you hit the nail on the head with your suggestion.  AND - The Boyfriend is nearly on board with us raising them ourselves (our yard rabbits may be descendents of those a neighbor kept years ago) .  I could not do the killing, but once it was dead, I'd be fine with the prepping. Seriously - dressing a rabbit is not that hard.  What a coincidence - I was able to meet the mom of a good friend of mine recently.  Olive is probably 80 yrs old - from England, she lived through the Coventry bombing in WWII.  Back in those days, you sent your kid to the butcher where you bought your undressed rabbit - and anybody in the household could handle the prepping.   Big conversation we had about rabbits!

Our big state fair is coming up in Sept.  I am going to seek out the folks raising meat rabbits to see if I can establish a local connection.  I also work in fiber and was able to find all kinds of mohair, angora, alpaca fiber locally.  Why not rabbit?

I don't know why it is silly to buy from Hare Today? They grow they own rabbits, and you know exactly where it comes from.... Great company..... There was another company I used to buy Rabbit too - Laurie knows - she got some (LDG) AWESOME quality, but it is also shipped. Also grew their own....
I buy lots of meat on HT and will continue to buy it..... Shipping is fast and reasonable, meat is fresh and of great quality..... What is wrong with that :dk:

Carolina said:

I don't know why it is silly to buy from Hare Today? They grow they own rabbits, and you know exactly where it comes from.... Great company..... There was another company I used to buy Rabbit too - Laurie knows - she got some (LDG) AWESOME quality, but it is also shipped. Also grew their own....
I buy lots of meat on HT and will continue to buy it..... Shipping is fast and reasonable, meat is fresh and of great quality..... What is wrong with that

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I had a long reply drafted that went into my personal philosophy about shipping and wasting fossil fuels - but I deleted it as I figured it would start one of those "don't judge me because I'm willing to burn more fossil fuels than you" arguments.  Not gonna go there - I HATE that stuff.  But here is the text from the Hare Today site that really made me sit up and take notice as a west coast resident:

There are some area on the west coast that show 5 or more days for delivery.
The longest transit time in the winter months is 4 days. If it is
showing 5 days or more for shipping you CAN NOT use ground service and
must upgrade to 3 day air minimum.

April through October 3 day shipping is the longest transit time for frozen goods, choose the correct shipping to get this to you in 3 days or less.
If you choose  a longer transit time then 3 days, April through October, your order will be deleted and payment refunded.

So instead I want to ask a question: please define "fast and reasonable" - what does that mean to you?  It may mean something different for you than me. What is the distance between your house and where they ship from?  I am going to open an account with them and calculate the cost of a shipment so I have some hard and fast numbers.  But the simple answer is:

Why ship something nearly 2,000 miles IF you can get it locally?  I think that's a world of difference. And some of what you are paying to ship is water (ice packs) which kinda sends me over the edge even more.  Would not be so resistant if it was a dehydrated product.

ETA: I live on the edge of rural - "developed sticks" my friends call it.  So I may have more local options that a city dweller in a dense metro area. 

ETA again: We have been unemployed since 2009 - so money IS part of the issue.  When you have had NO INCOME for years - you have more time than money.  Thus I have plenty of time to look for local rabbits and even learn to process locally purchased myself.  If we both had our old jobs and were gone all day - it would be a no brainer.

The place you are in your life at any given moment defines the choices you make.  Trust me, long term unemployment is a hell I would not wish on my enemy.

Hey aprilprey, IMHO no need to get defensive when no one knew of your situation before? :dk:
FYI, HT ships with small ice (gel) packs, and not with ice blocks - they also ship with FedEx home delivery, which is fast and inexpensive.... In my experience.
I have been doing for a while, and yes - even when I was unemployed.
But it will take you going to the site, putting your information and calculating shipping with your location in mind.

Sorry if you took my post personally - it was not.

Carolina said:

I don't know why it is silly to buy from Hare Today? They grow they own rabbits, and you know exactly where it comes from.... Great company..... There was another company I used to buy Rabbit too - Laurie knows - she got some (LDG) AWESOME quality, but it is also shipped. Also grew their own....
I buy lots of meat on HT and will continue to buy it..... Shipping is fast and reasonable, meat is fresh and of great quality..... What is wrong with that

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OK Carolina - I stand HUMBLY CORRECTED!  Humbly with tail between legs.  Pat yourself on the back - it is hard to get that response from me!  I crunched some numbers after opening an account - here is how it works out...

5 rabbits large + 4 extra ice packs = $45.95

Fed Ex Ground 4 day shipping = $35.52 (had a heart attack there but pressed on....)

Total cost = $81.47

Total weight = 27.5 lbs

$81.47/27.5 lbs = $2.96 per pound.  (THEN I had to change my underwear after the shock of seeing that low figure...)

The Boyfriend, after hearing that cost per lb is even MORE pissed that our local place buys from China - oh boy - they are getting an earful tomorrow.

Its always good to get hard numbers.  I'll work on ignoring the fact that it will burn fossil fuel to get here...but I guess the Fed Ex trucks cross the US regardless if I order stuff from a great distance or not. 

I am glad I did that - thanks Carolina! ETA: I did not take it personally.  I think my Italian ancestry comes out in my writing - lots of exclamation points and drama are the stand in for waving my hands around!  NO offense taken AT ALL - most people don't think about the unemployment thing and don't think of the excess of time that gives a person - just needed to explain myself!

aprilprey said:

OK Carolina - I stand HUMBLY CORRECTED!  Humbly with tail between legs.  Pat yourself on the back - it is hard to get that response from me!  I crunched some numbers after opening an account - here is how it works out...

5 rabbits large + 4 extra ice packs = $45.95
Fed Ex Ground 4 day shipping = $35.52 (had a heart attack there but pressed on....)
Total cost = $81.47
Total weight = 27.5 lbs

$81.47/27.5 lbs = $2.96 per pound.  (THEN I had to change my underwear after the shock of seeing that low figure...)

The Boyfriend, after hearing that cost per lb is even MORE pissed that our local place buys from China - oh boy - they are getting an earful tomorrow.

Its always good to get hard numbers.  I'll work on ignoring the fact that it will burn fossil fuel to get here...but I guess the Fed Ex trucks cross the US regardless if I order stuff from a great distance or not. 

I am glad I did that - thanks Carolina! ETA: I did not take it personally.  I think my Italian ancestry comes out in my writing - lots of exclamation points and drama are the stand in for waving my hands around!  NO offense taken AT ALL!

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:lol3:
I am glad you will get some good ol' American Rabbit!
Hare Today is Awesome! Take a look at their site! Since you are going to buy the Rabbits, I highly recommend their hearts - duck and turkey hearts are hard to find and a huge hit - not expensive at all. Kitties love it. The more you buy, the less the shipping/lb will cost. Something else I buy there is the boneless Turkey legs, as I don't find it anywhere. Take a look around and have fun

Their boxes mail 50 pounds - you may want to use less so you can add extra ice packs during these hotter months. But why not fill the box - the price of shipping drops per pound.

Aprilprey and Carolina.... I just had to add (having seen you two back & forth in another thread) - you crack me up. Between the Italian thing and the Brasilian thing, the passion and the "waving hands around" in writing, it's very entertaining watching you seem to have issues, then always work them out!

Carolina said:

I am glad you will get some good ol' American Rabbit!
Hare Today is Awesome! Take a look at their site! Since you are going to buy the Rabbits, I highly recommend their hearts - duck and turkey hearts are hard to find and a huge hit - not expensive at all. Kitties love it. The more you buy, the less the shipping/lb will cost. Something else I buy there is the boneless Turkey legs, as I don't find it anywhere. Take a look around and have fun

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Carolina dear - I saved the best for last. The Punchline so to speak. That per lb rate in my posting?  

CHEAPER than the $4.95 per lb I paid for surely antibiotic laden (and what else?) from China.

Frack me with a spare Cylon body part!  I cannot for the life of me think of any other time where higher-quality domestic ANYTHING was cheaper than something from China.

Ever.  Its totally counter-intuitive.  Especially after seeing the "high end foodie gourmet food source rabbit" at $20 a lb or more.

I think I'll still look for local sources at the state fair this year, as watching "how to butcher a rabbit" videos has got me all excited about adding another "old timey" skill to my list of skills.  We already decided where we'd do the processing - in our utility sink - we just need a hook on the ceiling above.  I already know how to process fleece and spin it into yarn, knit, make cold process soap, garden....adding "I can process a rabbit and am thus more ready for TEOTWAWKI*" - its just irresistible.

(* inside joke here - I am fond of saying I am one head injury away from becoming a full on prepper...)

LDG said:

Aprilprey and Carolina.... I just had to add (having seen you two back & forth in another thread) - you crack me up. Between the Italian thing and the Brazilian thing, the passion and the "waving hands around" in writing, it's very entertaining watching you seem to have issues, then always work them out!

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Carolina you are Brazilian?  No way!!! I so miss my Brazilian friend that moved to Texas!  She was so awesome - I am 5' tall and she was just a tad shorter than me - I used to joke she was my soul mate because I did not have to look up to talk to her.

We had 5 or more Brazilian exchange students in my design studios when I was in an landscape architecture program in 2010-2012.   Oh, I miss them too!!!

OH THE PASSION!!!!  We passionate types are all about raging fights...then big dramatic "make ups" afterwards... The Boyfriend is half Japanese - totally different way of dealing with conflict.  We drive each other nuts sometimes.

aprilprey said:

Carolina you are Brazilian?  No way!!! I so miss my Brazilian friend that moved to Texas!  She was so awesome - I am 5' tall and she was just a tad shorter than me - I used to joke she was my soul mate because I did not have to look up to talk to her.

We had 5 or more Brazilian exchange students in my design studios when I was in an landscape architecture program in 2010-2012.   Oh, I miss them too!!!

OH THE PASSION!!!!  We passionate types are all about raging fights...then big dramatic "make ups" afterwards... The Boyfriend is half Japanese - totally different way of dealing with conflict.  We drive each other nuts sometimes.

Click to expand...

:lol3::lol3::lol3:
Sure am, Brazilian living in Texas
Yep, as we say in Brazil, passion to give and to sell :bigthumb:

The reason HT can sell rabbit cheaper is because they don't have to jump through all the legal hoops that are needed to sell it for human consumption. Pet food rules are way more relaxed. So yay! that you found a good affordable source!

Ya know folks - with each passing day, we move closer to slaughtering our own.  I think that's another thread in itself.   The price per lb. I quoted above would be the "winter" rate - due to the distance, I'd have to ship a faster way or by air.  At that point - we began to wonder:

Why not find a local source and slaughter ourselves?

I feel a new thread coming on.
 

I realize it has been awhile since you posted in regards to rabbit.  I am located in Port Orchard and have just gotten approval from WSDA to sell ground rabbit from our farm for pets. Am starting with a single grind, the rabbits are small boned. Hope to take up the slack on the west side of the state for raw pet food needs.

K ktmo21
Would you be willing to provide more information on your product? I usually order through wholefoods4pets and just placed an order thru HT for rabbit ground with fur.

Currently I am just grinding rabbit that has been skinned and cleaned. The liver, kidney, heart are included in the grind. I have the guaranteed analysis done also.  It is $4.45 in 2 lb frozen chubs.  This is a single course grind. Have not started doing the fine grind yet.

I actually run a farm with raw cow milk, pork, beef, chicken and rabbit.  I was encouraged to start the pet food since a lot of my customers were needing it for their pets. You can see my facebook page "Blackjack Valley Farm".

K ktmo21
Thanks! I will check out your page.