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Two hundred and eighty-four, genetically similar (a three-way cross), young rabbits were fed ad libitum, from weaning, either a commercial diet (group C, ether extract 2.6%) or a diet containing vegetable fat (group V, ether extract, 9.9%) or animal fat (group A, ether extract 11.7%). A principal component (PC) analysis was performed with the variables: ultimate pH at 24 h post mortem measured in the longissimus dorsi (LD) and in the biceps femoris (BF) muscles, colour measured on the surface of the loin, fatty acid composition of perirenal fat, meat fat content of the hind leg, water holding capacity and cooking losses of the meat, and sensory variables determined by a trained panel test. The four first PC explained 62% of the total variation (27, 13, 11 and 11%, respectively). The first PC grouped the fatty acids, the second PC grouped the sensorial variables, and the third and fourth PCs grouped the pHs and the water …