A Question of Ethics…

We all like to win.  Who doesn’t?  I personally LOVE it when I win, but I really don’t mind when I lose…as long as I lose to a qualified winner.  What do I mean by qualified?

When I refer to qualified, I mean a rabbit that has not undergone any faking to put it over the edge.  I’m not talking about plucking a single stray hair here or there (though technically, that’s faking).  I think any judge worth his or her salt is going to spot a dye job, undue plucking, foreign substances in the coat (applied the DAY of the SHOW), “Sharpie” marker on toenails, etc.  What I am talking about is the kind of cheating that puts a rabbit in the show coop that shouldn’t even be there in the first place!

I’m talking about the all too common practice of showing underweight 6/8’s and senior rabbits in junior classes.  There are some prominent breeders who have shown overweight Mini Satins as junior Satins…all for the sake of winning and gaining sweepstakes points.

I was talking about this with a good friend of mine who was lamenting the fact that she had been beaten on the show table all year by the same Broken Junior doe.  This same friend had also complained that another breeder had confided that he routinely entered overweight senior Mini Satins as junior Satins.  Does anyone out there not see a problem with this practice??  As a former 4-H Program Coordinator in Arizona, I taught workshops on ethics to 4-H members.  I’m here to tell you this sort of behavior would not fly for one millisecond.  I want to take this point a bit farther…

When you or I know this is going on and we turn our head and look the other way, we are guilty too.  We are guilty of creating an unfair, inequitable competitive atmosphere for everyone that has paid their entry fee in good faith that they will have a fair assessment of their animals.  I’m not going to play that game anymore.  I challenge all ARBA members…if you are aware of unethical practices – point it out to the show superintendent.  If you have a beautiful 6 lb. Mini Satin (or Mini Rex) in your barn – use her as a brood doe, but keep her off the show table.  If you have a typey Satin (or Rex) that can’t seem to tip the scales past 7 lbs – CULL! 

‘Nuff said.