Before I start posting photos of Truffles, I just want to spend a little time to share what I have learned about the purpose of breeding (again!). Yeah, I know everyone’s talking about making sure you breed for quality. We must breed to achieve a goal that is to produce rabbits that exceeds the STANDARD OF PERFECTION laid down by ARBA. So what it takes in between the starting line and the ultimate victory?
For the past few weeks, two words kept on coming onto my mind. CULL HARD. Do you know that when the competition gets really serious. Breeders will start to cull their rabbits. Not many are petted out because unlike commercial breeders that sees every rabbit as an opportunity to MAKE PROFIT, a show breeder feels that the more pets he/she sends out, the more diluted the market becomes.
The common methods of culling would be to send rabbits to reptile farms, snake farms or raptor farms. I was not able to accept these methods at first but after thinking it through, I felt that it does give a purpose to raising rabbits. To be honest, I rather have my rabbits humanely put down then to have some airheads experimenting with breeding. What I hate most is the mentality of people thinking that rabbits are profitable. I still cannot see how it is profitable unless costs are cut in the form of feed.
I believe that a good show breeder will always cull their rabbits. It is much better than having abandoned rabbits. Keeping every single pet quality rabbit is not the solution and dumping all of them in a common area is definitely not a good idea as well.
Here’s Truffles:
Tru-Luv Rabbitry: Quality Holland Lops in Malaysia 
Hey.. growing up!
Tru-Luv Truffles sucking all the Milk alone.. nobody kacau.. Lol..
I respect everyone has a their own hobby and an aim to be the best… The question is it really worth culling (even in a humane method) living beings to achieve the objective?
Many years back, we heard abt horror stories of baby girls getting murdered just because her family has a preference for a boy. I can see the similarity in both scenario since both show breeder and the family were trying to achieve the objective by killing the little beings they created.
In my humble opinion, rabbits getting killed by other animals in wild is just part of the ecosystem but breeding them to meet ARBA perfection standard and feed them to reptiles when they do not meet the mark doesn’t seem right.
June,
It is a nice discussion to have. I know we tend to relate our pets to human because we indeed treat them as part of the family. But looking at the circumstances. A rabbit that falls into the hands of irresponsible breeders looking for profit will be used to churn out more and more rabbits. And if the breeders send them out as pets, their qualities are normally pretty bad and for those people to breed them would mean having more sub standard rabbits.
I am not trying to say that I could agree with some of the ways they are culled but I believe to a certain extend, culling may be needed in certain situations.
OMG… not yet open eyes… and you can see how big, fat and cubby she is…. Full hand.. I love the paws
The most important thing one must realize when breeding Rabbit is that CULLING is a must. Maybe for breeder the culling is used to get a good or super quality rabbit. this way no bad looking rabbit and not even we want to have them as a pet.. Ya.. the bad looking oso can be a very good pet.. but for rabbit it’s normal we want a cute rabbit.. it’s for sure we will choose the cute rabbit from a big cages from the pet shop.. how about the ugly… that why culling is important here.
Ok.. yes.. now somebody come and get the ugly and breed and what we have yup like TLR said more sub standard rabbit.
So… it’s start from the breeder or up to the breeder with the big farm or even small rabbitry to CULLING and controlled their breeding. Because
1. To stop all the sub standard rabbit
2. we don’t want more abandon rabbit, that is so sad.
And for us that have Rabbit as a pet culling is need, we don’t want one day we can see rabbit stray and abandon. Even if we see rabbit in adoption tread or SPCA that is really hurt us deeply.
And if we as a Pet Rabbit owner.. wanna breed our Pet.. better give a good reason…
– if money..better say no.. because cant be rich oso
– and if you said.. by the end our pet is going to have babies.. better not to get ones in 1st place.
and the way of culled… may be it’s sound cruel to give sub standard rabbit to snake. But it’s more cruel and sad if we see rabbit abandon running in concrete jungle with no way to go and nothing to eat.
we see this happen to cat and dog.. so we dont want this to happen to rabbit.
anyway… what the different givin snake, chicken or mice or rabbit?
Snake oso need to eat… just because that is the food it’s cruel to give them. hehehe…
sorry if anyone… hate me because of this… peace
I think many people would ask why breed in the first place when you want to cull. In my opinion, there will be no need for culling if we start off breeding on the right footing. Breeding good rabbits right from the start.
I believe for most established breeders in US that has developed the breeds over more than 20 years, they get less of pet quality and do not need to cull so much.
I notice that a lot of culling happens when new breeds are being developed. Even introducing colors into Holland Lops has cause many rabbits that are not up to expectations to be culled.
all the discussions about culling aside…
O: that is one FAT kit hahahaha. XD
i really want to kiss his lil mouth :’D
Kak Azian, i’m not going to hate u, but i cant agree on CULLING a living thing.
I know for some breeders, they think that CULLING is a must to prevent overpopulation. Like TC said, a lot of culling happens when new breeds are being developed. For these breeders, breeding = experimenting. ‘Defect’ litters will be culled/disposed?
How about the breeders who breed to making profit? Are they breed based on demand, or they simply breed and hope this ‘breeding activity’ will encourage demand? What happen is the demand is less than what they expected? Are they going to put them for adoption? Provide a land and just let them live by them self or shud i say let to die? Or anaesthetize them?
Sigh..