Boost for rabbit farmers
BUSINESS REPORTER
Zimbabwe’s leading hotel chains have added rabbit meat to their menus as diners move for healthy dishes in a major boost for the growing rabbit sector.
Specialists say rabbit meat is a source of protein, which keeps humans healthy by building and repairing their muscles, skin and blood.
Zimbabwe Commercial Rabbit Breeders Association (ZICORBA) President, Regis Nyamakanga, said leading hoteliers such as Cresta Hotels and Holiday Inn recently introduced rabbit meat as part of their strategy for serving healthy dishes.
In addition, the ZICORBA chief said, a number popular restaurants and eateries in major urban centres in Zimbabwe have also introduced rabbit, making the dish one of the most preferred in the country currently.
“Three other top hotel groups will soon introduce rabbit meat as demand for healthy dishes continues on an upward trajectory,” Nyamakanga said.
Chef Pretronella Munyoro of Cresta Group of Hotels said customers had responded very well to the introduction of rabbit meat in Zimbabwe following the recent opening of the country’s first rabbit abattoir.
“We only buy meat from approved slaughter houses. The coming on stream of a rabbit abattoir gave our group the confidence of introducing rabbit meat as one of our dishes. We used to be worried about the reliability of product supply but the opening of the Raymeg Rabbit Abattoir in Harare has brought some welcome relief,” she said.
Zimbabwe’s rabbit industry is on the ascend with the recent opening of the country’s first rabbit abattoir. The US$1m abattoir, is one of the biggest in Africa.
The Harare-based rabbit meat processing facility, which was commissioned in September 2021, has a capacity to slaughter between 2.5 tonnes and 3.5 tonnes of rabbit per eight-hour shift per day.
Such has been the growth of the local rabbit sector that Botswana’s Northern Rabbit Breeders Association recently tapped into the expertise of ZICORBA in its bid to establish a rabbit abattoir in Francistown.
