How did rabbits spread from North America to Asia and Europe?

Rabbits originated and underwent most of their early development in North America, where their fossil record is well-documented dating back to the Eocene Epoch, approximately 40 million years ago.1

By the Miocene Epoch, about seven million years ago, the family Leporidae had become reestablished in Asia and had expanded into Europe. This migration from their North American origins eventually led to the present-day global distribution of the species.1