If you didn’t know better you would be forgiven for thinking that the Alaska Rabbit originated in the freezing wastes of some North American state, but in fact, nothing could be further from the truth. Perhaps even more surprising is the notion that the Alaska Rabbit is currently an unrecognised breed in the US.

The Alaska was developed by German judge Max Gotha as an alternative source of fur from the Alaskan Fox, whose coat was much admired by everyone. The Alaska is instantly recognisable thanks to its striking glossy black fur.

The Angora is a long-haired rabbit originating in Turkey and bred for its fur, which is spun and used like wool. It’s one of the oldest breeds of rabbit and can trace its ancestry back to Ankara, once known as Angora, alongside the Angora cat and Angora goat.

The Angora rabbit was popular as a pet in the French court of the 18th Century and had made its way to other parts of the Continent by the end of the Century. These days they are primarily kept for their wool as they can be a difficult animal to keep as a pet.

One of the oldest breeds of show rabbits, the Argente is a small, rounded rabbit that makes an excellent pet due to its good nature. The coat of the Argente rabbit is mottled and comes in a variety of colourways including bleu, champagne, brun, crème and noir, all of which are recognised by the British Rabbit Council; while the ARBA recognises only the Champagne and crème types. Despite the mottled appearance of the adult coat, the kits are born with solid-coloured coats.

A rather fancy type of domestic rabbit, the Belgian Hare was developed specifically to resemble the wild hare in appearance. The Belgian Hare is instantly recognisable thanks to its lithe body and long, slim legs. Due to its breeding the Belgian Hare is one of the more intelligent rabbit breeds and they are also very active, needing lots of exercise and plenty of opportunities to run and play.

The breed is quite long-lived, with some examples living up to 10 years, and most animals weigh between six and nine pounds.

This large white rabbit is considered to be one of the rarest breeds in the world and was originally bred in Belgium from a Beveren and a Flemish Giant. The Blanc de Termonde was developed for the meat trade and is currently recognised by the British Rabbit Council (BRC) and the American Rabbit Breeders Association (ARBA).

The Britannia Petite was founded in Great Britain in the 1800s and is known in the UK as the Polish. It’s a dwarf breed that’s renowned for being lively and energetic.

The British Giant is a larger rabbit that has its heritage in the Flemish Giant – a breed that originates in Belgium. This is one big bunny – the British Giant can grow up to 7kg and often rivals a small dog in size. The breed makes the perfect house rabbit and will live very happily alongside cats, dogs and children.

The British is not a particularly active animal and will be more than happy to lie around watching the world go by. If he’s handled early and regularly enough, he will become very affectionate and will love nothing more than a snuggle with his owner.

Developed in Southern California in the early part of the 1920s, the Californian Rabbit is a medium to large sized domestic animal that’s the result of crossing a Himalayan with a Chinchilla, before putting the resulting kits to a New Zealand White. Breeder George West was looking for an animal that had good meat coverage as well as a high-quality pelt.

The Californian initially failed to arouse interest in American fanciers and it wasn’t until the 1930s that the breed became popular. Today the Californian is one of the most popular meat rabbits in the world and its coat means it is classed as a fancy breed.

It’s thought the Cashmere Lop was first discovered in a nest of dwarf lop kits in Wales in 1980; the Cashmere Lop boasts a luxurious coat that’s soft and thick. It’s a medium sized bunny that was accepted as a distinct breed in the late 1980s.

The Cashmere Lop comes in a wide variety of colours and commonly weighs around four or five pounds.

The chinchilla was originally bred in France as a fur and meat animal and currently there are three types within the breed; the standard, American or ‘Heavyweight’ and the Giant, which is the result of crossing a standard Chinchilla with a Flemish Giant. The Chinchilla rabbit is very popular in America and was originally introduced to the country in 1919.

The Continental is one of the largest and oldest breeds of rabbit, with evidence suggesting that the breed may stretch as far back as the mid-16th Century. They can grow to be huge – more than 15lbs in some cases and should be looked upon much like a pet dog. They aren’t keen on being picked up and so aren’t the best breed to keep if you have children who might want to carry them and have a cuddle. They will be more than happy to be petted and stroked however, and as they are such gentle, inquisitive creatures they do make fantastic pets.

This unusual rabbit is a Dutch breed that’s renowned for its warm red-brown fur that’s a striking colour due to the bright agouti colour it displays, along with distinctive black ticking that takes on a ‘wavy’ appearance. This unique pattern, which is known as ‘mackereling’ is certainly the most memorable thing about the Deilenaar, should be slightly wavy and never even.

The body is compact, meaty, and muscular and could be referred to as ‘cobby’.

The striking Dutch is one of the most popular rabbit breeds. Contrary to popular belief, it did not originate in Holland, but the UK. For a long time it was the most popular choice for pet owners, but the emergence of the dwarf breeds saw it fall out of favour, however it remains one of the world’s 10 most popular rabbit breeds to be kept as a pet.

This breed is one of the latest to be recognised by the American Rabbit Breeders Association, having only achieved registration in 1984. The Dwarf Hotot is characterised by an entirely white coat with circles of either black or chocolate around each eye.

While the much larger Blanc De Hotot was developed in the early 19th Century as a meat and fur animal, the story of the diminutive Dwarf Hotot is a little bit more interesting.

The English is a fancy rabbit with a long history, having first appeared in the early 19th Century. This is a moderately sized rabbit that’s notable for its striking spotted and marked coat which includes a butterfly, circles around the eyes, coloured ears and cheek spots.

The English is accepted in seven different colourways, including black, chocolate and lilac as well as tortoise, blue and grey. The breed is known to be fun-loving and inquisitive and has a full, arched body and very long legs.

The English Lop was bred in England and made its first appearance on the show scene in the 19th Century. It has the kudos of being the very first lop rabbit to be developed by humans and is thought to be one of the oldest types of domesticated rabbit. Weighing around 5.5kg, the English Lop is instantly recognisable thanks to its long, droopy ears, robust head and imposing frame.

Originating in Flanders, the Flemish is a giant breed of rabbit that’s often kept as a house rabbit due to its large size – mature does can reach up to 14lbs, while bucks can achieve 13lbs. The Flemish is believed to have been bred from lines of meat and fur animals in the 16th Century so the Flemish Giant is certainly one of the oldest rabbit breeds that’s still kept and shown today.

By breeding together the English Lop and the Flemish Giant or French Butterfly rabbit back in the 19th Century, fanciers developed the hugely popular French Lop rabbit. The French is different from it’s English cousin as it’s bigger and its drooping ears are shorter. It also weighs slightly more.

The lovely French Lop usually weighs in at around four-and-a-half kilogrammes, but can weigh more and can live to be five years old.

The German Lop was developed by fanciers in Germany in the 1960s when it was decided that a medium-sized lop animal was needed to complement the English, French and Dwarf varieties. The result of their efforts is a well-rounded, ‘cobby’ rabbit that certainly has a cute and cuddly appearance and a striking Roman nose.

The German Lop is well-known for its calm, pleasant demeanour and is not too large, and therefore makes an ideal pet or show animal. The does make excellent mothers and can raise large litters of robust and vigorous kits. However, they do have a tendency to moult thanks to a very thick undercoat, so potential owners should be prepared for lots of grooming and vaccuming if your rabbit is to be kept indoors.

In the US this breed is known as the Checkered Giant, but in Europe, where the breed originated, it’s commonly referred to as the Giant Papillon. Fully grown adult males of the type should weigh around 11lbs, while adult does usually weigh a little more.

The Papillon is only outweighed by the Flemish Giant and the Giant Chinchilla and is considered first and foremost, a show animal, although they are popular as pets. In the US the Papillon – or Checkered Giant – is one of only 11 rabbit breeds that display defined patterns and markings and although markings differ between the European and American types, they are still considered to be the same breed.

The Golden Glavcot is an extremely rare breed of fine-boned, red coloured rabbit that enthusiasts believe was originally developed for the fur trade. The breed became extinct, but was recreated in the 1960s minus the blue and silver variations of the type, which remain extinct.

Many fanciers do not like the Golden Glavcot or ‘GG’ as they are somewhat affectionately known, as they still resemble their wild cousins, however those that do choose to breed or keep these rabbits are rewarded by a very affectionate, sweet and placid companion.

The Harlequin is a very popular breed of rabbit that is recognised by fanciers and breed associations for its colouring and markings rather than its fur type. Its colour is usually black and orange with absolutely no silvering allowed by the breed standard.

Many fanciers suggest that this Harlequin isn’t actually a breed, rather, it’s simply a colour and this is hotly debated in rabbit circles. Although the colourway is referred to as harlequin and this has been taken as the name of the breed, the Harlequin breed can also present in a ‘magpie’ colourway, which means white, rather than orange, is the second colour.

Often referred to as the ‘mink of the rabbit family’, the Havana is a small rabbit – usually weighing in at around 4.5lbs. The breed displays a gorgeous, luxurious coat that’s deep and rich. The most popular shade is undoubtedly the chocolate variety, which was the original colour of the breed and the one that gives it its name. Contrary to popular belief, the Havana was not developed in Cuba, but in Holland, and the glossy brown coat was thought to closely resemble the colour of the famous cigar.

The Havana is now seen in blue, black, broken and the famous chocolate, and is the foundations animal for a number of other breeds including the Perlefee, Gris Perle de Hal and the Fee de Marbourg. The breed is shown as a fur animal and unsurprisingly gains most of its show points for its colour and fur quality.

The Himalayan Rabbit looks very much like the Californian Rabbit, with its white coat and distinctive dark coloured markings on the nose, ears, feet and tail. The markings are accepted in a number of colours including blue, lilac and chocolate.

The breed is known as one of the oldest and calmest types of rabbit and is a medium-sized animal weighing in at around 1-2kg. Somewhat unusually, they also have red eyes and they are a cylindrical breed, meaning the body is long and slender.

Although the history of the breed is not certain, many fanciers believe that the Himalayan originates not in the Himalayas themselves, but rather in the Far East, as when they’re kept in colder climates the coat can display a black colouring, which makes them a phenocopy of black rabbits.