We are obsessed with Angora show bunnies. Obsessed.
Show animals aren’t just dogs — they’re also bunnies! And we’re really, really happy about that. Today, The New York Times published a story on Angora show bunnies, and now we are completely obsessed. So, as a natural response to new obsessions, we couldn’t help but take a deeper look into the fluffy world of Angora rabbits. We discovered some pretty interesting facts — for starters, we saw with our eyes that they are the softest, most adorable bunnies ever to exist.
In case you’ve never heard of Angora rabbits, they are one of the oldest breeds of domestic rabbits. People who have been lucky enough to pet them say their fur is softer than cashmere! We didn’t even know that was possible, but as it turns out, anything’s possible.
Angora bunnies are known to be super chill. One Angora fan told The New York Times, “They’re generally a pretty mellow rabbit. I heard about one that supposedly fell out of its cage overnight, landed on the back of a dog and stayed there until morning.” That’s the chillest, cutest thing we’ve ever heard.
There are four different recognizable breeds of Angora bunnies: English, French, satin and giant. During the show’s competition, judges look for characteristics that compare to the American Rabbit Breeders Association’s “Standard of Perfection”. According to The New York Times, this includes “length, size and body type (ideally, for an English Angora, ‘between a cantaloupe and a basketball,’. . . and “nicely fleshed” — that is, not too bony); proportionality of the head and ears; density of the ear cartilage; alignment of the teeth; color of the toenails.” Judges also examine the wool quality, “which should be lustrous and even and ‘have a good hand,’. . . plusher than plush, but also ‘alive,’ and springy.”
Tough crowd. To us, all of the bunnies are perfect, and we wish we could have at least 20 of our own. OK, maybe two. Or three. OK, fine — 20.
In the midst of our Angora research, aside from all the awesome things we learned, we also found some very unsettling info that needs to be touched on. While most Angora rabbits live happy, healthy lives, some are bred for their long, soft wool. They aren’t typically directly killed for their fur, but some awful people do, however, use cruel and illegal tactics to remove fur from the rabbits. PETA published this piece on the rabbit wool industry, and like all things involving animal cruelty, it’s very difficult to see, but provides some insight into what is being done and how we can help stop it.
Sorry to bring the mood down, but we think it’s important to tell an entire story — not just one happy side of things. Especially when action needs to be taken.
OK, back to the adorableness of these beautiful animals. Here are a handful of Angora show bunnies who are totally happy and whom we have absolutely fallen in love with:
