It is illegal to take game from the wild or to possess wild game so you cannot propagate native rabbits. Years ago, 50's and 60's sportsman's clubs used to bring Cottontails rabbits in to PA from Kansas to stock. My dad's club used to give him about a dozen rabbits after he sexed them to propagate and after the litters were grown they would be released on land open to,hunting with good rabbit habitat. However, the laws have changed and it is now illegal to import cottontails from other states because of inadvertently importing diseases that could be spread to our wild rabbits. They also used to import San Juan hares which looked like giant cotton tails. My dad also propagated them for his club but they for some reason never took hold and propagated in the wild, and in addition, they would dig warrens, meaning lots of them lived in an area with a lot of holes which did not please the farmers. It is now illegal to possess a San Juan Hare in PA.