Silver: a breed shaped by people

The National Silver Rabbit Club describes the Silver as an old breed known in England since the sixteenth century and among the populations recognized by ARBA's predecessor in 1910. It presents the proposed routes through Portugal or Siam as traditions rather than a proven pedigree. The club also explains that young animals begin solid-colored and develop silvering with age. That developmental fact changes how a historical or family photograph should be read: a young Silver may not yet show the adult feature for which the breed is named. An incomplete-looking coat is not automatically evidence of another breed.