There is a saying, “Build the barn before painting it.” For Angora rabbit breeders, this means that you get everything perfected with regard to body and wool first. You develop your herd so that it is competitive at a national level, and so that it consistently reproduces excellent type and wool. Then maybe — maybe — it is okay, under very limited, specific circumstances, to go through the process of applying for a Certificate of Development to work on a new color variety.
The process of getting a new color accepted by NARBC and the American Rabbit Breeders Association (ARBA) is not an easy one. The members of NARBC have to give their approval before a COD will be given by ARBA. You have to have been a member of ARBA for a minimum of five continuous years. Then you begin the years of trying to get enough correct animals of the color together for presentation to the ARBA Standards committee.
Rarely are new breeds or colors passed at their first ARBA presentation. The committee goes over the rabbits in minute detail, and any one thing that is not to their satisfaction sends the entire project back to the drawing board. If the presentation of a COD holder fails for two presentations in a row, the COD is revoked. That person is no longer eligible to hold it, and the work can continue only if another person is awarded the COD. Then everything is back to square one.
As an example of how arduous this process is: people have been trying to get the broken pattern approved by ARBA as an English Angora variety for about 20 years. Broken isn’t even something all that exotic, because we have the broken French Angoras for precedent. I am not personally a big fan of the idea of broken English Angoras, because I don’t see the point, but as the precedent exists, I have no active objections other than that when they do become approved, I fear they will become a fad.
ARBA Convention Best in Show winner Betty Chu said, “Do you want to breed the best color, or do you want to breed for best in show potential?“ Betty is also the chairman of the NARBC Standard committee.
ARBA Convention Best in Show winner Linda Cassella said, “..please just shy away from these breeders of unrecognized colors, because they’re just having babies, and they are not trying to improve the breed.“
If you want to get yourself an reputation as an irresponsible idiot, go to the facebook groups and start blabbing about breeding non-standard colors. Other breeders are quietly taking notes of who does this, and they also take notes of who the people are who encourage that irresponsible behavior. Sadly, I observed someone who is running for an office in the National Angora Rabbit Breeders Club doing just that, recently. That person, perhaps unknown to themselves, has a reputation as something of a bunny miller.
Get a copy of the ARBA Standard of Perfection. Commit the Standard for your breed to your memory. No one will ever raise the perfect rabbit, but one can work to get ever closer to the ideal, closing the gap bit by bit.
Don’t be satisfied with being common and ordinary! Dream big, and strive to raise truly exceptional Angoras that are beautifully cared for and groomed. Otherwise, please just do not breed Angora rabbits at all!