Off-Beat-News
Akubra hat's fur now mostly coming from France─── 08:09 Wed, 08 Jul 2015
New York - The manufacturer of the Akubra - the famous Australian hat, worn by outback stockmen and those who want to look like rugged bushmen - says the rabbit fur used in making the hats will now come entirely from Europe.
Australian wild rabbits were once in plague numbers, but a vigorous eradication campaign over decades has drastically cut their numbers.
The Akubra’s financial officer Roy Wilkinson told ABC News that it has been increasingly hard to get enough Australian rabbit fur to meet demand for the hats made famous around the world by the movie character Crocodile Dundee.
The distinctive hats have been part of the Australian Olympic team uniform as well as handed to visiting world leaders as gifts.
It takes 12 rabbits to make one hat. The Ukraine used to fill the need for more fur, but since the trouble in the country most of the furs have been imported from France.
- ANA/DPA
