The
American Rabbit Breeders Association has quite an involved process for acceptance of new breeds or varieties of currently accepted breeds. It\'s a lot to go through; however, the process ensures that: 1) the animals will breed true to type over a period of generations and 2) the quality of the presentation animals is well above accepted minimums and do not show evidence of heritable genetic defects.
First, a breeder who wishes to present a new breed, must obtain a
Certificate of Development from the ARBA and submit a proposed breed standard with a fee of $50. If approved, the breeder has 3 years in which they work further on perfecting the breed before it can be presented at a National ARBA Convention.
90 days prior to the first presentation, the breeder must write a letter requesting to make a presentation at the national convention, along with affadavits from 5 or more ARBA members from different households stating they are actively raising the proposed breed.
The breeder must make 3 successful presentations in a 5 year period at three different National Conventions which are held at a different location in the country each year. The first presentation consists of 2 pairs with the junior pair being offspring of the senior pair. In the second and third presentations, there must be 6 animals (3 pair) with one of the pair being from the previous presentation. At each presentation, the ARBA Standards Committee goes over each animal with a fine tooth comb. There can be no physical defects of any kind and the animals must be of high quality. If just one animal is found with a defect, the entire presentation fails. If, in the 5 year period, there have not been 3 successful presentations, the next breeder with a Certificate of Development can make an attempt, following the same procedures outlined above.
If the third presentation is successful (and, by the way, each animal presented must also have a 3-generation pedigree accompanying it), the ARBA Standards Committee polls the ARBA Board of Directors for the final nod on acceptance. If the vote shows majority approval, the breed becomes official.
During the presentation process, if the first presentation is successful, a working standard is issued, and rabbits of the proposed breed may be shown, but cannot compete for Best in Show awards. Once fully accepted, the breed competes as any other as of the first of the month following publishing of the breed standard in
Domestic Rabbits magazine by the ARBA.
Whew! And I didn\'t give each and every detail here. Any breeder who successfully manages to win acceptance of a new breed (or variety) spends a TREMENDOUS amount of money and time. They deserve the admiration of all.
Charlcie Gill
Zodiac Rabbitry
Astoria, OR
http://www.zodiacsatins.com