'Rabbit commander' marches to expand furry army

YINCHUAN — Even during the Spring Festival holiday, Ma Xili never fails to wake up early and take care of his bunnies.

"Our family spent the festival at the rabbit farm this year, hoping for good luck during the Year of the Rabbit," said Ma, who is in his 60s.

Ma's success in operating a rabbit-breeding business for nearly 20 years has earned him the pet name of "Rabbit Commander" in Youfang village in Northwest China's Ningxia Hui autonomous region.

"Rabbits are highly reproductive and have short gestation periods. They breed rapidly with each capable of giving birth to 40 bunnies. I can make 100,000 yuan ($14,800) in pure profit from them each year," said Ma.

Over the past 20 years, Ma's rabbit farm, with a population of 3,000 rabbits, has seen its income steadily increase, with Ma and his wife mainly selling them to customers in Southwest China's Sichuan province

As a kid from a poor family, Ma did not have the opportunity to attend school.

He had worked as a vendor and a grocer previously, but with rabbit breeding Ma has personally developed his own methodology, and has since been hired by the local government to teach other farmers how to breed the animal.

Rabbit breeding is so popular in Ma's village that there is even a saying that goes: "Three rabbits keep your belly full, 10 keep your body warm and 100 bring you the road to wealth."

"I'm looking forward to expanding my business as this year marks the Year of the Rabbit — a gentle and beloved animal that signifies good luck in the Chinese zodiac," Ma said.

Besides Youfang, other villages in and around the city of Guyuan have also seen a growing number of villagers engaged in the rabbit business, including many young people, and Mu Zilong is one of them.

Mu, from Chen'ershan village, grew up in the countryside.

He gave up his job in the city and decided to return to his hometown to start his own business and devote himself to rural vitalization in 2019, when Mu bought 80 rabbits at an average price of 150 yuan each, and learned to raise rabbits from scratch.

Mu initially suffered some financial losses and a blow to his confidence due to low survival rates, but he did not give up.

By taking classes online and learning skills offline, he gradually became an expert. Now, Mu runs a farm with 2,000 rabbits earning 90,000 yuan a year.

"Rabbit breeding demands meticulous work. One must follow very strict rules when taking care of them," Mu said.

Xinhua