I understand that rescue animals are something that many people feel passionate about. I understand that rescue animals are just as deserving of homes as any other animal. Don't think I am trying to say anything different, however... It seems as though the rescue advocates believe that rescue animals are MORE deserving. That somehow, being abandoned, or neglected, or abused makes a shelter animal more valuable, more important.
They seem to think that if people would stop buying from breeders, that all breeders would stop breeding. I'm afraid that just is not the case. Breeders who breed solely for profit(think designer dogs) would stop, but those that are passionate about the animals they breed would not. Those that spend their hard earned money on high quality animals, that invest in show animals, that show their animals and deal primarily with other breeders, would not. It would not end the show circuit, it would simply stop the outlet for pet quality animals.
You see, for every litter bred, maybe one of those animals will have the potential to do amazing at shows. There are the average show animals, who will help fill classes, and there are the pet quality animals that are adorable, great for a pet home, but should not be bred. Every breeding, no matter how calculated and planned, will end up with more pet quality animals than it will brood or show animals. And if people stop buying those pet quality animals from the breeders, where will they end up? With rabbits, probably in a crock pot.
Why, exactly, is that shelter rabbit more deserving of a home? Why does someone have to be shamed for researching to discover the breed they would like most, for finding an ethical breeder, asking questions and ensuring they are buying from someone they would like to support? They are, in fact, offering a home to an unwanted rabbit - a pet quality rabbit has no place or purpose in a breeding program; the breeder does not want it. They get the added bonus of raising the rabbit - making sure the rabbit develops the habits they would like, and ensuring that rabbit does not know a day of hunger, or fear, or abuse.
Really, does an animal have to have had a hard row to sow in order to deserve a loving home? I don't think so.