The divide between rescue, and breeders can be a huge chasm. Adopt don't shop, vs. buying a well bred animal often comes down as a hammer and hurts the feelings of both sides. When in reality, we all have the same end goal in mind: healthy happy animals who have a great home.
When I have a litter of bunnies born, and I hold them in my hands, helpless, naked and completely mind, I hold a huge responsibility. This life I have created is reliant on me to make every decision possible, and I owe it s good life. One safe from hunger, from terror, from abuse.
I breed rabbits not for the glory, the money, or even the fiber. I breed rabbits because I love who they are, the people I meet, and the overall goal of breeding the best angora I can.
Breeding sucks. And the choices you make as a breeder are painful. While with one rabbit you can choose to treat upper respiratory illnesses long term, with a herd you can't. Because keeping that rabbit alive can endanger the rest. With bad teeth, you worry what if something happens to you? What if the rabbit you have kept as a pet doesn't get the teeth trimmed. Taking it to a vet, as many of us live in the country without exotic vets can be hard, or impossible. If you have a runt born, and nurse it through, you worry it'll die late. Losing a week old baby is sad. Losing a 12 week old is devastating.
Or you place them, only to have them returned matted messes, or see them on Craigslist, or the person you think is an amazing home flakes and you find them in a rescue. Or the people disappear entirely, leaving you wondering what happened.
When I hold these babies, I have to think of all these things. Sometimes the answer for what is best is to return them to the food chain young, sometimes I have amazing homes. Sometimes it's culling a genetic problem, and knowing I caused that to be born. Sometimes it's sleepless nights nursing an animal through an illness and willing them to survive, and sometimes it's crying yourself to sleep over a decision you made. And then we go out, snuggle the bunnies, groom them, love them and it's all worth it.
For the end result is happy healthy, quality amazing angoras. Rescue has it's place, so does caring well run breeding programs.