Comparison of Carcass and Meat Quality Traits among Three Rabbit Breeds

The objective of this study was to compare carcass composition and meat quality traits in the longissimus dorsi and biceps femoris muscles in the Hyla, Champagne and Tianfu Black rabbit breeds. Tianfu Black rabbits had the heaviest head, skin, thoracic viscera andcommercial carcass percentage (p<0.05). In addition, Tianfu Black had the highest pH0 h value, followed by the Champagne and Hylabreeds (p<0.01) in the longissimus dorsi and biceps femoris muscles. Tianfu Black had a higher a* (0 h and 24 h) than the other twobreeds in both longissimus dorsi and biceps femoris muscles (p<0.05). The Hyla, Champagne, and Tianfu Black breeds showed a similarpattern of differences for meat quality traits (pH, L*, a* and b*) measured in fresh meat (0 h) and meat stored for 24 h. Hyla had thehighest IMF values of the three breeds (p<0.01). The lower intramuscular fat of Tianfu Black and Champagne rabbits gives them anadvantage over Hyla rabbits among most consumers seeking lean rabbit meat.