- COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Belgium
- YEAR RECOGNIZED: Unknown
- USES: Fur, meat
- WEIGHT: 12 pounds (5.5 kg) max., senior does
- BODY TYPE: Semi-arch
- FUR TYPE: Rollback: 1 –1 inches (3.2–3.8 cm) long; dense, glossy
- COLORS: Black, blue, white
The beveren rabbit has achieved high marks for meat, fur, and exhibition. Curiously, it has never been an enduringly popular breed in North America. Its silky, high-quality coat, however, made it a bulwark of the early, but fleeting, American rabbit fur industry.
The Beveren was named for the Belgian town in which it originated, most likely in the late 1890s. It was among several blue breeds developed in that area, including the St. Nicholas Blue and the Flemish Giant. When Beverens, in both standard and giant sizes, were first exhibited in England in 1905, they garnered little attention. Beverens were imported in 1910 to the United States, where the breed joined six other blue breeds.
Beverens are good outdoor pets, and, as with all other breeds, cold weather thickens their dense, lustrous coats. Two facial characteristics help separate Beverens from their cousins: a curve that reaches from their forehead to the nose tip and long, broad ears held in a V shape.