Rabbit shows to let her or not?

My dd1 has just come back from her best friends house and asked me if she can take Belle to a show and enter her in the pet category. Sadly her friends mum shows and knows Belle is a show standard rabbit for her breed. Belle is neutered and she knows that.

Belle is dd1's rabbit but at the same time as the adult i have the final say on this. I want to make a informed choice on this. Having never been to a rabbit show does any know what they are like?

I haven't been, but i would say that if Belle is an adult bunny who isn't used to being shown, she would be very scared. It will be a noisy room full of people, the rabbits will be in small cages with nowhere to hide if they're scared, and strange people picking them up. I wouldn't dream of putting my rabbits through that x

I can see why she'd want to go to a show, but personally, no I wouldn't let Ludo enter one even in a pet category.

Bunnies are such home lovers and nearly always quite timid and cautious of new situations, so I think it would be a frightening experience for them to needlessly be put into a carrier, then a car, then put somewhere away from home, picked up and looked at by strangers, then put back in a carrier and driven home.

Perhaps an alternative could be helping her take a really lovely photo of Belle and entering it into magazine pet photo sections or similar?

I am in the if the rabbit is not used to it don't do it side.

A few things to consider
Does the rabbit travel well in general?
Is it used to being in a confined space sometimes or will that stress it out?
How does the rabbit deal with handling? - at shows the rabbits are handled by judges that they don't know
Has it been exposed to noisy situations and how did it deal with that?

I would also look at the types of cages or pens they are using in the show, do they have a place where the rabbit can hide if it all gets to much? (often they do not)


If the answers to those are negative then I wouldn't even try really, it is not a normal situation for a rabbit, and if they are not used to it potentially very stressful.

Of course you could slowly get the rabbit used to these situations but in an older rabbit that could take a lot of time and is it really worth it?

I'd take your daughter (without bunny) to watch this time around which will give you an idea of whether or not Belle would cope, then you'll be able to sit down and talk to your daughter about it and bring up things that Belle might not like (eg: when the bunnies are being shown the handler had to do [insert action] do you think Belle would be happy if that happened to her?)

Thank you everyone. Just looked up rabbit shows on you tube and decided my firm answer is No. Given the pen sizes and pure hustle and noise i don't think Belle would cope. She's a amazing rabbit and very loving i can see why dd1 would want to show her off.

Thank you Hesperus a great idea with the photo's. She is getting a bridge camera for Christmas and she loves spending time with Belle so can combine the two.