- COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: France
- YEAR RECOGNIZED: 1979
- USES: Fur, meat
- WEIGHT: 11 pounds (5 kg) max., senior does
- BODY TYPE: Commercial
- FUR TYPE: Rollback; 1 inches (3.2 cm) long ideal; dense, lustrous, fine
- COLORS: Frosty white with black eye bands (circles)
SEEKING AN IDEAL FUR, MEAT, AND SHOW RABBIT, French breeder Eugenie Bernhard began developing the Blanc de Hotot (pronounced blonk DOE-TOE) around 1902, selectively breeding the French Giant Papillon until, by 1912, she had the desired breed characteristics. The breed nearly disappeared during World War II, but a few Blanc de Hotots remained in Switzerland and Germany.
Bernhard’s objective had been to minimize markings in her Blancs, but the Swiss and German fanciers, some years later, bred for the dark eye band that identifies the breed today. Blanc de Hotots were first imported to the United States in 1978 and soon earned recognition.
A big white rabbit with distinctive eye bands, the Blanc de Hotot is one of the most stunning breeds but also one of the rarest. The Blanc is a thick-set, well-rounded rabbit with long ears carried in a V. Its fine, dense fur is characterized by the numerous guard hairs that create the sheen representative of the breed. Ideally, the strands of fur are 1 inch (3.2 cm) in length.