It was recently brought to my attention that someone made the claim that; Breeders who produce rare and sometimes unshowable varieties are nothing more than pet breeders who are not serious about their breed. As a show breeder who breeds for quality and also has side color projects where I focus on getting quality on color, to me this statement is very ignorant. We each have our own personal goals. For someone's goal to be different than yours, doesn't mean they are wrong. To claim all breeders who have color projects are pet breeders, is to question their ethics and integrity.
Let me better clarify why this statement is factually incorrect and is simply just a placement of judgement/opinion. The majority of color "rules" are made based on the simple fact they can produce unshowable offspring, and not that they would affect the color quality like you would assume. Keep in mind new varieties will eventually be accepted and showable. One of my personal color projects is the Chocolate Otter Jersey Wooly. I knew beforehand of acquiring any of Jersey Wooly that I would like this variety. Why? I adore the color and it is quite simply special to me. We all have that special color/s. I later discovered the color was harder to find. Not many breeders have the color because of the fact they are unshowable (at the current moment). Because of this I had to put in a well thought out plan on how I was going to pull the Chocolate color out and put it on wool. Keep in mind both the Chocolate color and the wool gene are recessive, which made this project quite challenging and rather difficult. The project has required me to expand my knowledge of (but not limited to) genetics, linebreeding, conformation and other breeders to inquire stock from. I worked incredibly hard, spent loads of money and time, and am proud to say I have produced my first Chocolate Otter.
Does this sound at all to you that I have no regards to ethics of breeding and genetics, or that I truly do not care about the well being of the breed? It is quite the opposite. In fact, because of my color projects I have a much greater understanding of color genetics and what colors shouldn't be used together and which are okay and why. To place a judgement that I am a pet breeder by the simple fact I have color projects is ridiculous. Take a look at my rabbits and you will discover outstanding quality, and someone who has an expanded understanding of breeding and color integrity.
At the end of the day, there will always be those who will always believe; if a breeder purposely produces unshowable varieties or who touches underdeveloped showable varieties are nothing more than pet breeders. That is just fine, but I stand to challenge that judgement.
