Monday, January 4, 2010

What happens if your rabbit bites the judge at a rabbit show?

I got curious, so here is a question for those who show rabbits (or judge them). What happens if a rabbit bites the judge during judging? Hopefully, this doesn't happen, but has anyone ever seen it happen or had it happen with one of their rabbits? Are there breeds more prone to biting?





Could it place your rabbit much lower in the rankings, or is temperament not as consequential as type at rabbit shows?





What should the owner do in this instance? I have heard it is improper to make any remarks that would identify the rabbit being judged as yours, but does this extend to apologies if your rabbit bites?What happens if your rabbit bites the judge at a rabbit show?
you will get disqualified for having a dangerous animal.What happens if your rabbit bites the judge at a rabbit show?
This is sort of like if a dog pees in a show, it is just an embarress for the owner but there is no punishment to this because it's seen as an 'accident'. Usually rabbits who show should be tamed before and handled by the judge before-hand, they don't monitor their temperaments, just looks, posture, healthiness etc...





Obviously as an owner and if you catch your bunny biting an apology would be nice...
It'll win FIRST PLACE RIBBON for the aggression competition!!!
you would get out of the judging
I've seen LOTS of judges get bit. Anywhere from a nip to drawing blood. What happens to the rabbit is up to the judge. Some judges say ';get this thing off my table'; and the rabbit is sent packing. Other judges put it back in the cage and continue to judge the rabbit, they're just more cautious when they have to handle it. Depends on the judge.





I think judges put themselves in a position to be bit. They handle hundreds of rabbits every day, they have to sex each rabbit, so they get dozens of different smells on their hands. Then they put that ';smelly'; hand near a rabbit and depending on the rabbit, the judge may get politely nipped, or bit really hard. Most cases, you can't blame the rabbit. But you can't blame the judge, either. They can't wash their hands after touching every rabbit.





It is improper to identify your rabbits on the show table, but you can make a comment to the clerk and let the clerk know your rabbit has a tendancy to bite. But then when the clerk tells the judge that this particular rabbit bites, the judge can say (and I've seen this happen) ';Get it off my table'; without even looking/touching the rabbit, or they can say ';Lucky me!!'; and be cautious when having to touch that rabbit.





Usually if a rabbit bites a judge and really ticks them off, the judge holds up the rabbit and says ';Who owns this rabbit?'; then the owner has to take it off the table. The judge doesn't usually lecture the owner, just getting kicked off the table is insult enough.

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