English Butterfly

A first description of a rabbit corresponding to the English Butterfly was made in the 19th century by Cuniculus. In 1887, the Countess of Albertas notes in her writings that she received rabbits resembling the English Butterfly that she appears to appreciate particularly. At the time, it is described as a common rabbit by Meslay who was able to observe some in England, but also in France, particularly in Normandy and Brittany. In fact, the English Butterfly appears to have origins in the same spotted rabbits at the origin of the French giant butterfly, but the selection carried out in England led to a very different breed, both in terms of coloring pattern and size. The breed really developed in England in the 1850s and 1860s and was then quite popular. It subsequently experienced a sharp decline and only reappeared about twenty years later, under the impetus of breeders who definitively oriented it toward an exhibition breed. It was exported to the United States as early as the 1910s, and a genealogical book was opened there in 1924. It also developed in France where there are today approximately 1,300 breeders in 250 farms.

The English Butterfly is a small rabbit, weighing between 2 and 3 kilos. Their ears are upright and rigid and measure between 8.5 and 11 centimeters. The body is quite long for a small breed and the legs are well visible. The back line is arched and the croup is rounded. The animals never show a dewlap. The coat is short and dense, and the white coat is spotted. All colors are accepted. The difference between the white and the color of the spots must, according to the standard of the French rabbit breeding society, be as marked as possible. The spots must have a very particular arrangement, with a characteristic butterfly-shaped patch on the nose, eyes circled in color, colored ears, a continuous dorsal line from the base of the ears to the tail, a spot on the cheek, just below the eye, and small dots on the rest of the body, which must be detached and as numerous as possible. It is a relatively active rabbit, spending one to two hours a day running.