Lionheads, dwarf satin and blue-grey Viennese – connoisseurs know immediately that these poetic-sounding names are rabbit breeds. Around 3000 breeders and visitors with more than 9000 of the cuddly four-legged friends came to the 35th national show of pedigree rabbits in Kassel at the weekend.
The exhibition was significantly smaller than in previous years, said the spokesman for the Central Association of German Rabbit Breeders, Wolfgang Elias, of the German Press Agency. The forced break due to the corona pandemic led to reluctance among breeders. The response at the federal show was very good.
The breeders lack offspring
The most beautiful specimens had already been chosen on Thursday, with the public being excluded. The judges looked at criteria such as a beautiful, thick coat, weight, coat color and body shape. Crucial for the perfect breeding results is a kind of “bible” of the rabbit breeders, as Elias said. Those who come particularly close to the criteria contained therein with their animals receive the highest scores.
According to Elias, like many associations and clubs in Germany, the traditional rabbit breeder associations also have problems with young people. The reason for this is also the effort that has to be made for the hobby: Anyone who runs breeding facilities with 30 or more animals cannot go on vacation at will and hope that neighbors, friends or relatives will take care of the rabbits during this time.
Nevertheless, people of all ages in Germany are still interested in rabbit breeding – the central association is the largest of its kind in the world.
It’s about preserving ancient races
In addition to competing for the most beautiful specimens at the alternating federal show of pedigree rabbits and the federal buck show, where only male animals are shown, the association is also concerned with preserving old breeds, said Elias. The rabbits are seen primarily as agricultural livestock, as they are also used for consumption and provide “excellent meat in organic quality”.
Elias counters criticism of the hobby and exhibitions such as the national show by animal rights activists with reference to proper housing conditions. “Every pedigree rabbit breeder loves his animals,” he said. If you don’t take good care of them, you don’t have a chance in the competitions, because the judges noticed it immediately.
At the shows, rabbits are exchanged and sometimes sold – both to breeders and occasionally to visitors. The animal rights organization Peta, for example, had criticized at similar exhibitions, among other things, that visitors were tempted to buy bred animals at such shows, while thousands of animals were waiting for a new home in animal shelters.
