At present the breeds of rabbits which are used for meat production in Malta are very limited: New Zealand White, Californian, commercial hybrids and an assortment of first or second generation crossbreeds. The local rabbit Tax-Xiber, which enjoyed a monopoly for centuries until the advent of the commercial breeds has been sidelined and is losing in importance at such an alarming pace that it will surely soon be classified as an endangered breed on the verge of extinction. The consequence will be the loss of yet another local rabbit and a reduction in the genetic variability precisely when genetic variability could possibly be the key to future advances in production performance under hot climatic conditions. The author puts on record historical data passed on from generation to generation, some hitherto unpublished, concerning the origins of the Tax-Xiber rabbit. He also theorises on likely probabilities in its evolution. After a full and detailed phenotypic description he finally pleads for a new lease of life for the local Maltese rabbit.