Akubra to use only European rabbits

[daizawaguy]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-08/akubra-cites-growing-local-costs-in-switch-to/6604110

 

[Edward]

Seesm a shame in carbon footprint terms, but better that than they close down.

 

[moontheloon]

hmm

I doubt this will change the quality of the hats since they have already been importing some of their rabbit for over 20 years

it is a shame for the Australian suppliers who depend on Akubra to stay in business

but this is a classic case of economic cause and effect

 

[Frunobulax]

Wonder what the economic pressure is that keeps the rabbit pelts grown in Australia from being viable? I always had a vision of an overabundance of rabbits in Australia, which would keep the prices down.

 

[tommyK]

I could be remembering wrong but I believe there was a growing shortage of rabbits in Australia that was driving the price up. It won't take long for the population to recover if left unharvested for a couple of years.

 

[RJR]

Sounds familiar;cheaper to import already processed than to buy locally.

 

[Edward]

I remember hearing that in recent years one of the UK police forces bought the component parts for its uniform caps in the UK, then sent them to the Czch Republic for assembly, before shipping them back to the UK, because that worked out signiicantly cheaper. That's global capitalism for you. Nature of the beast.

 

[ScaryWoody]

Here's a bit more in a different report. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-08/akubra-to-import-rabbit-fur/6603106

 

[Frunobulax]

That sheds a bit more light. Apparently, bunny availability may not be the issue. This article

http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2012-02-10/rabbit-numbers-soar-to-pre-calicivirus-levels/3821278

Talks about the calcivirus that was released in the 90s to control the population. As of 2012, the population was at pre virus release levels. So prices are up either due to labor costs or possibly burdensome regulations or local operating costs. With that many bunnies, you'd think it'd be economically feasible to harvest, send the pelts somewhere labor is cheap for processing, then re-importing for manufacture. Of course, I'm sure after ten minutes of research I only know enough to be dangerous

 

[Lean'n'mean]

Over 50% of Akubra's fur already comes from imported bunny skins, mostly from France, a side product of the meat industry. It's doubtful Akubra sources wild rabbit fur anyway, the quantity & quality would be too haphazard. I imagine Akubra buys the skins for next to nothing & with current cheap international air travel, it's understandable that it may well be cheaper to import rather than source in OZ.
I suppose we can anticipate Akubra's 'relocation' to china in the near future.

 

[ScaryWoody]

It's a shame to see the Australian rabbits discarded like they are doing. If Australia got together with the World Hunger folks they might have a win win somehow.

 

[mayserwegener]

Here are some comments on Australian wild Rabbit from Die Hutmacherkunst: ein Handbuch für den Klein- und Grossbetrieb By Carl Bortfeldt (1906)

Rough translation

4. In rabbits from Australia larger differences occur. The Australian rabbit is when in the hot season imposes much poorer in hair also come under the skins from Australia many small pelts so their hair is very inferior. It is precisely in Australia each rabbit indiscriminately killed because there as I said for each coat be through the government pays a premium.

2. Australian Rabbit skins must be degreased same as Nutria skins.

(Negatives: Warmer climate, hard to clean, killed before reaching maturity)

 

[mayserwegener]

From what I have read from German sources wild Rabbit is superior if sourced from a colder climate and during winter.

I know Tonak uses farm raised Rabbit, wild Rabbit and wild Hare (not be confused with wild or farm raised Rabbit) depending of felt type / finish. They also have some of their own fur sources in East Europe (Ukraine? Czech Republic?).

 

[ingineer]

So Steve, what you are saying that the quality of Akubras may actually/ possibly improve?

 

[mayserwegener]

I don't think you will see any difference. My guess is they have been sourcing (based on local shortages) from Europe for a long time. (I know China is having a huge impact on fur supplies.) This is assuming they keep processing the felt (fur quality, amount of fur used, machine cycles) the same way. I don't believe Akubra makes any long hair finishes (Hare) or high quality dense finishes (Beaver) so only source Rabbit pelts / fur.

By the way English / American felt makers of the past had a different opinion of Australian sourced wild Rabbit. I just offered an alternative viewpoint.

 

[Duper]

History of Rabbits in Australia
In 1859, a man named Thomas Austin, a landowner in Winchelsea, Victoria imported 24 wild rabbits from England and released them into the wild for sport hunting. Within a number of years, those 24 rabbits multiplied into millions.
By the 1920s, less than 70-years since its introduction, the rabbit population in Australia ballooned to an estimated 10 billion, reproducing at a rate of 18 to 30 per single female rabbit per year. The rabbits started to migrate across Australia at a rate of 80 miles a year. After destroying two million acres of Victoria's floral lands, they traversed across the states of New South Wales, South Australia, and Queensland. By 1890, rabbits were spotted all way in Western Australia.

Currently, the rabbit inhabits around 2.5 million square miles of Australia with an estimated population of over 200 million.

Australia is an ideal location for the prolific rabbit. The winters are mild, so they are able to breed nearly year-round. There is an abundance of land with limited industrial development. Natural low vegetation provides them with shelter and food, and years of geographic isolation has left the continent with no natural predator for this new invasive species.

I wonder if the Australian hat industry would have ever begun if originally they had to import all the fur from abroad?

As for the current rabbit population, the figures in the clip are a few years old.

,,,Duper

 

[mayserwegener]

I am sure there would have been some type of hat industry. Austrailia wasn't known as a major felt / hat making country. They became a major supplier of wild Rabbit pelts. I know the English (America too) started buying large amounts of Australian wild Rabbit for their felt hat industry (late 19th Century).

 

[mayserwegener]

Regarding China. This is from 2011 interview of the owner of Šešir a Slovenian felt and hat producers.

"The prices of the raw materials that we buy in Belgium, were up to 40 percent of all stocks are being bought up by the Chinese. "

http://www.delo.si/clanek/147884

There is some interesting information but you need to run it through Google or Bing translators.

 

[Rick Blaine]

I am sure there would have been some type of hat industry. Austrailia wasn't known as a major felt / hat making country. They became a major supplier of wild Rabbit pelts. I know the English (America too) started buying large amounts of Australian wild Rabbit for their felt hat industry (late 19th Century).

For that matter Canada would've never existed except for its abundant fur resources, eh? :canada:

 

[Duper]

For that matter Canada would've never existed except for its abundant fur resources, eh? :canada:

Very true Rick!

In the 17th century, the fur trade emerged as a major commercial enterprise in North America due to European demand for felt hats made from beaver fur.

The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), chartered 2 May 1670, is the oldest incorporated joint-stock merchandising company in the English-speaking world. Originally headquartered in London, England, its head offices are located in Toronto. The group currently operates the following retailers: Hudson’s Bay, Home Outfitters, Lord & Taylor, Saks Fifth Avenue and Off 5th, Saks’ discount chain.

Now if only beavers bred like rabbits we would all be swimming in beautiful inexpensive hats. If we didn't make hats out of them we would all be swimming period behind all the beaver damns they build.

,,,Duper