In about 1948 there was a similar appeal to eat rabbits. My dad was bitten and got some rabbits. Before long we had more and more and more.
He couldn’t or even perhaps wouldn’t sell the excess. We ate rabbit a lot. It was or actually is, good. There are lots of ways to prepare it.
The real problem was the killing and skinning. It was actual work. maybe on a farm with out a day job it might be ok.
There had been a depression and then a war that prompted such thinking.
These apply to people who breed them for any purpose (meat, to fur, to Easter presents), and to amateurs as well as professionals.
What that means is even if you give your rabbits away, there are restrictions on how many and under what conditions.
None of the marketing order rules on rabbits make much sense in terms of how cattle and chickens are raised, and that's where folks get in trouble raising rabbits.
We've discussed the marketing orders on FR in the past ~ they actually do make sense for commercial rabbit raisers, but basically if you want to raise rabbits for home consumption, keep them there! Don't give away even one!