Municipality of Rhineland
The Municipality of Rhineland is a rural municipality (RM) in the Canadian province of Manitoba that incorporated on January 1, 2015 via the amalgamation of the Rural Municipality of Rhineland and the towns of Gretna and Plum Coulee. It was formed as a requirement of "The Municipal Amalgamations Act", which required municipalities with a population less than 1,000 to amalgamate with one or more neighbouring municipalities by 2015. The Government of Manitoba initiated the amalgamations for municipalities to meet the 1997 minimum population requirement of 1,000 to incorporate a municipality.
Rhinelander rabbit
The Rhinelander first appeared in shows in 1902 in Germany, after initially being bred in North Rhine-Westphalia. They were developed from a cross between a Harlequin buck and a gray papillon type doe. A buck from the litter had the markings that the Rhinelander would come to be known for - black and orange in color, located on the chin, ears and "butterfly markings" in black on one side and orange on the other. Another cross was made between the Harlequin buck and a Checkered Giant doe, with the resulting litter producing a doe with the desired markings. The buck from the first litter and the doe from the second litter were mated, and does from the resulting litters were crossed with Harlequin bucks to create the Rhinelander breed. In 1905, a German breed standard was created, and they were given the German name "Rheinishe Schecke". In 1924, the first rabbits were exported to the Netherlands and England. Although initially very popular, the initial interest soon dwindled, along with breeder numbers. Selective breeding for color markings, as required by the breed standard, was beyond the skill of many breeders; this, combined with the athletic, rather than meat-producing, conformation, resulted by 1930 in only a few breeders continuing to preserve the breed. Interest reemerged in post-World War II Germany, however, and population numbers again grew, with the Rhinelander becoming the most popular spotted breed in the country by 1978.