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Bradford Excel Small Animal Show

holidayhutch

Warren Veteran
Has anyone been today? What did you all think?
Hubby and I went along and had a great time. Got some good bargains and met the lovely Norman from the Dust Free Hay Company too(Hi Norman if you're reading:wave:).

It was sad seeing all the animals in such tiny cages, even if it was only for short periods, but there were some absolutely gorgeous rabbits there and I fell in love with a gorgeous Flemish Giant and an English Lop with the longest ears I have ever seen on a rabbit
 
I cant bare to go to shows as I just hate seeing all the poor Buns couped up in shoeboxes :cry:
I have been to a couple, never again.

Janex
 
I wne last year and enjoyed it lots. Came away very tired though. I fell in love with a the little polish breed. It was weird seeing about 10 'Faline's (but the big version) all next to each other. Lots of the rabbits had half eaten their awards.
 
Becki it is on tommorow yes:)

I know what you mean Jane, some of the rabbits couldn't lie down :(

We went mainly to look at suppliers, pick up a few goodies and network etc for the business. Came away with some great bargains and ideas:D
 
I am going tomorrow.Never been before but i have promised my niece i will take her.It will upset me if the animals are all in small cages:cry:Don,t really know what to expect:?
I am sure i will come back with lots of goodies for bunnies and piggies though:D
 
Just to give you an idea Becca - hamsters were in boxes only just the size of an A5 sheet of paper (half a sheet of A4). Guinea Pigs in approx 12 inches x 10 inches. Rabbit cages weren't much bigger than a pet carrier in some cases depending on the breed in them:(
 
:cry::cry::cry::cry:I don,t think i want to go now.My niece is only 7 though and has been looking forward to it all week.
Maybe i can persuade her to go shopping instead then McDonalds:?
 
We went today, didn't like the cages, and the fact some breeds had to sit on mesh, so they didn't get shavings in their fur :cry:

Me and my dad wonder whether they were eating their pen numbers because they were being mischievious or they were hungry :shock:

My dad bought some Dust Free Timothy Hay from Norman, the bunnies love it :D

Kirsty xx
 
Here are a couple of piccies to give you an idea of pen size, Giants and French Lops get a bigger pen.

_ICT0243.jpg


_ICT0247A.jpg


Kirsty xxx
 
Here are a couple of piccies to give you an idea of pen size, Giants and French Lops get a bigger pen.

_ICT0243.jpg


_ICT0247A.jpg


Kirsty xxx

Poor Bunnies :cry: Looks as though they are in prison :cry: No hideaways, no toys. Just stuck in a crate for humans to gawp at them:evil:

Absolutely hideous


Janex
 
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Eeek! :shock: :shock: :shock:

The cages are TINY!! :cry: So the buns just sit allday, looking pretty for the judges?? For how many hours are the buns caged up like this for??

m
xx
 
Eeek! :shock: :shock: :shock:

The cages are TINY!! :cry: So the buns just sit allday, looking pretty for the judges?? For how many hours are the buns caged up like this for??

m
xx

They don't get judged in the pens - they get removed from the pens and taken to the judges' table by stewards. It's a 2 day show so they are in there from 8ish Sat am until 4ish Sun pm. I stand to be corrected but I assume they spend Sat night in them.

Mike
 
They don't get judged in the pens - they get removed from the pens and taken to the judges' table by stewards. It's a 2 day show so they are in there from 8ish Sat am until 4ish Sun pm. I stand to be corrected but I assume they spend Sat night in them.

Mike

Well, if they do then IMO that is animal abuse :evil:

I wonder if when the new Animal Welfare Act is fully up and running this sort of fiasco will be banned.
I thought we'd moved on from 'circus animals' , putting on a show to entertain selfish humans

:censored:

Janex
 
And boy do they gawp, poke, laugh...etc :cry:
Went to our local one in the summer, boiling hot tent, tiny cages, not nice really.
There was one very helpful breeder though, I was enquiring about best practice for trimming nails and he gave me a demo with a very relaxed bun and told me which nail clippers to buy (they didn't sell them so it wasnt money making on his part)

I would say its not for the faint hearted, but you should go so you know how show buns are kept, handled etc.

Supplies you can buy are often very good :D

I hope you have an interesting and informative day if you do decide to go :D

Lucy x
 
I quite like going to the shows, went to Bradford a couple of years ago when it was at the Doncaster race course. It's fascinating to see all the different breeds, especially at a huge show like Bradford, every breed imaginable is there not to mention all the other small animals.

The pens are very small, though they're not in too long, from what I know even at a 2 day show they're not in over night. It's certainly less stressful than being in a carrier on a long car journey if you're moving house.

Plus it's a brilliant opportunity to talk to the breeders and owners about their rabbits, plus there's all the stalls where you can pick up supplies that are otherwise hard to find and get ooddles of advice.

Obviously it's a bit heartbraking seeing the buns cooped up especially if there are young children about gawping at them. But life isn't perfect, this is why I won't show bunnies myself, even though I do have some show standard bunnies.
 
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