14 



RAISING BELGIAN HABES AND OTHER RABBITS. 



to be sold are to be marketed alive all that is needed is to crate them 

 properly and forward them to their destination. This is the better 

 plan in hot weather, as the carcasses do not keep well. If carcasses 

 are to be delivered the methods of killing and packing are important 

 considerations. 



KILLING. 



There are two excellent ways of killing the animals. The easier 

 and probably the more humane is to dislocate the neck. Almost all 

 gamekeepers know this method and can quickly show the novice 

 how it is done, but probably a description will be understood. Take 

 the two hind legs of the rabbit firmly in the left hand, place the 

 thumb of the right hand just behind the ears where the neck joins 

 the skull, the palm resting on the left side of the face and the fingers 

 holding firmly under the jaws. Then stretch out the animal quickly 

 and with force, pressing in the right thumb and bending the head 

 backward. The dislocation will be distinctly felt. While this 

 method requires considerable strength, when the knack of it is learned 

 it entails less suffering than any other. Another excellent way of kill- 

 ing is to hold the rabbit up in the left hand, as in the first method, 

 and then to strike a sharp blow on the back of the head with a round 

 stick, stunning the animal. As soon as the neck is dislocated or the 

 rabbit stunned the jugular vein should be cut with a sharp knife and 

 the animal hung head downward to bleed. • 



DRESSING. 



The next step in preparing a carcass for market is to remove the 

 paunch and entrails, as their presence would soon taint the meat. 

 With a sharp-pointed knife make a longitudinal cut down the middle 

 of the belly, dividing the skin and the thin abdomen walls, but being 

 careful not to cut the intestines. Turn out the paunch and the intes- 

 tines, but leave the lungs, liver, heart, and kidneys in place. Next 

 make a slit between the large tendon and the bone of one hind leg 

 and slip the other leg through the cut, so that the carcass may be 

 readily hung up. It should hang long enough to stiffen before being 

 packed. 



PACKING. 



For packing the rabbits for market a basket or hamper of the ordi- 

 nary shape and having movable flat slatted trays to enable one to 

 pack the carcasses in separate layers is recommended. Such a hamper 

 permits free circulation of the air not only on the edge but also 

 throughout the package, and the carcasses packed in this way reach 

 their destination in an attractive state instead of the messy condition 

 so ofter seen in the wild rabbits marketed in America. 



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