About the Standards Committee

The ARBA Standards Committee is one of the vital cogs in our organization.  It is comprised of a Chair and eight members. In its official capacity, aside from studying and interpreting the Standard of Perfection, one of the most important charges assigned to the committee is to:

“….consider any proposed Standard for a new breed or variety, other than an A.O.C. variety, upon its proper submission by the introducer of the new breed or the Specialty Club proposing the new variety of an approved breed.”

The ARBA Standards Committee – Role in Establishing New Breeds and Varieties

The Committee receives a large amount of correspondence throughout the year in regards to questions about how to file a Certificate of Development (COD) for a new breed, variety or acceptance of a foreign breed. There is currently a great amount of interest in establishing new breeds of rabbits and cavies, as well as adding new varieties to the established breeds. To help our members better understand and negotiate the process, we have put together a detailed informational packet that includes an overview, a step-by-step walk through and the requirements for filing a COD. The COD forms and informational packet is provided below and can be downloaded for your use.

Processes to File Certificates of Development

NOTE: Only adult ARBA members are eligible to file CODs. Presentation of a new breed or variety is a rigorous, serious, multi-year process that ultimately impacts every member of our organization. The levels of expectation, scrutiny and visibility far exceed what the ARBA Standards Committee desires to place on any youth member.

The decision to present a new breed, variety or foreign breed involves a major commitment of time, money and emotional investment, as any previous COD holder will tell you. We have had many wonderful additions and successes in recent years, such as the Argente Brun, Thrianta, Mini Satin, Broken New Zealand, and the Marten American Cavy. However, too often, miscalculations, quality of animals and circumstances beyond our control impact hard work and efforts. Therefore, the following information is provided for those members who are interested in pursuing Certificates of Development and in hopes of clarifying misconceptions. Some basic frameworks are also provided to help ease the process and provide continuity.

Before you go any further, it is advised that you turn to your Standard of Perfection, pages 15 to 27, and thoroughly study the guidelines that are provided there.

General Notes for all CODs:

• Since the SOP guidelines indicate that the first presentation be comprised of 8 animals, and subsequent presentations 12 animals, you should be looking at twice as many cages for your animals so that you have all of your contingencies covered.
• At presentation time, all animals must have complete 3-generation pedigrees. THERE ARE NO EXCEPTIONS TO THIS RULE.

New Breeds

We often receive questions from exhibitors who are thinking about a new breed, or have one unique rabbit that they want to promote. This is NOT the time to file a COD. Certificates of Development should only be pursued if you have been raising the new breed for a number of years and you have identified that the breed is unique and will breed true. The animals should be thrifty and robust and should be able to pass these qualities down to their offspring generation after generation. In addition, you should have studied, culled and have continuously worked to improve the herd before applying. The salient portion of the SOP is underlined below. You must also meet the following parameters:

• All breeders/sponsors must have been ARBA members for a minimum of 5 continuous years.
• All breeders/sponsors must be actively raising the proposed breed for the entire time that they hold a COD and be able to verify that they are active breeders if necessary.
• Up to 5 varieties may be proposed

Page 16 of the Standard of Perfection, Admitting New Breeds of Rabbits and Cavies into the ARBA Standard, opens with the following:

The American Rabbit Breeders Association, Inc. believe in the development of new breeds of rabbits and cavies, and admitting them into the Standard of Perfection. However, it is imperative that the breeder/sponsors provide documentation and proof to the Association that the new breed is capable of propagating its unique characteristics from generation to generation, in a consistent and qualitative manner, and that the new breed is worthy of admission into the ARBA Standard of Perfection.

If your new breed meets these standards, then you are ready to file a Certificate of Development. The following steps and forms are provided for you below:

1. Write a letter of intent to the ARBA [Form A]. It should detail your work, and the unique qualities of the proposed breed.
2. The primary breeder/sponsor should fill out the top of Form A.
3. Additional breeders/sponsors should be noted in the proposal and the detailed information provided on Form D.
4. Attach a copy of the proposed standard. Be sure that it includes a Schedule of Points, showroom classes/weights and full descriptions for type, fur, etc. It should also describe each proposed color and have all faults and disqualifications listed.
5. Enclose a check for $100 dollars. All of the above should be sent to the ARBA office in Pennsylvania. The address is: ARBA, PO Box 400, Knox, PA 16232.
6. Once your application is confirmed at central office, it will be sent to the Standards Chair for further processing. All proposals must be approved by the ARBA Standards Committee. (See pages 16 & 17 of the Standard of Perfection for further explanations and details.)
7. Approved CODs will be sent, along with detailed instructions and paperwork.
8. Once an approved COD is issued, the breeder/sponsor has 3 years to further improve/work/study the new breed before exhibition at a national convention.

New Varieties

We often receive questions from * exhibitors who are thinking about a new variety of rabbit or cavy, or may have a few rabbits of the particular variety that they want to promote. This is NOT the time to file a COD. Variety Certificates of Development should only be pursued if you have been raising the new variety for a number of years and you have stabilized the color; in other words, the color is uniform across all animals. In addition, it must meet the current breed standards for type, fur, etc. Keep in mind that the Standard indicates that new varieties must be good to excellent examples of their respective breed. It is not in the best interest of any club to admit a new variety if the proposed animals lack type, fur, health, etc. You should have studied, culled and have worked continuously to improve the herd before applying. In addition, you must meet the following parameters:

1. All breeders/sponsors must have been ARBA members for a minimum of 5 continuous years.
2. * All breeders/sponsors must be continuous members of the National Specialty Club for the duration of the COD. (Pages 21 & 22 of the SOP.)
3. All breeders/sponsors must be actively raising the proposed variety for the entire time that they hold the COD and be able to verify that they are active breeders if necessary.

Note: Keep in mind that you can only propose a new variety and that you cannot change the breed standard in any way. If the Standard covers more than one breed; i.e., Angoras, Lops, and the proposed variety is currently listed in the shared standard, you are compelled to use the accepted standard and cannot write a new variety standard. 

If your new variety meets these standards, then you are ready to file a Certificate of Development. The following steps and forms are provided for you below:

1. Write a letter of intent to the ARBA [Form B]. It should detail your work, and the unique qualities of the proposed variety.
2. The primary breeder/sponsor should fill out the top of Form B
3. Additional breeders/sponsors should be noted in the proposal and the detailed information provided on Form D
4. Attach a copy of the proposed standard. Be sure that it includes a complete color description that includes all faults and disqualifications.
   NOTE: Broken varieties can only be applied to colors that are currently accepted by the breed.
5. Enclose a check for $100 dollars. It should be sent to the ARBA office in Pennsylvania. The address is: ARBA, PO Box 400, Knox, PA 16232.
6. Once your application is confirmed at central office, it will be sent to the Standards Chair for further processing. All CODs must be approved by the ARBA Standards Committee. (See pages 20 & 21 for further explanations and details.)
7. Approved CODs will be mailed along with detailed instructions and paperwork.
8. Once an approved COD is issued, the breeder/sponsor has 2 years to further improve/work/study the new breed before exhibition at a national convention.

It is also imperative that you have the sanction of the national specialty club before proceeding any further. This will ultimately save you a lot of time, money and possible disappointment down the road. CODs cannot move forward without the support of the national specialty club. You must work with your club to provide time for the national specialty club membership to view the new variety and support it via a national balloted vote. (See pages 21 & 22 of the SOP.)

Admitting a Foreign Breed

We often receive questions from exhibitors who are thinking about importing a foreign breed of rabbit or cavy that they want to promote, or may actually own one or two. This is NOT the time to file a COD. Foreign Breed Certificates of Development should only be pursued if you have been successfully raising the foreign breed for a while and it will breed true. * Note: The Foreign breed must have been established for at least 5 years. (See page 27 in the current SOP.) You should have studied, culled and complied with the proposed standard before applying. The reason for this is that there is only a 2-year time frame once the COD is issued. This often surprises folks and they are caught unprepared, especially if they had hoped to import a number of animals after the COD was filed. Often, they are left without enough acceptable animals for presentation. In addition, you must meet the following parameters:

• All breeders/sponsors must have been ARBA members for a minimum of 5 continuous years.
• All breeders/sponsors must be actively raising the proposed variety for the entire time that they hold the COD and be able to verify that they are active breeders if necessary.
• * The foreign breed must be an established breed for a minimum of 5 years.
• You must submit an English translation of the standard.
• They must comply with the same rules and procedures for admitting new breeds, with the exception of only a two year waiting period.
  (See pages 27 of the SOP.) This means that a maximum of 5 varieties may be presented.
  Note: Keep in mind that all proposed varieties must be shown with the required number of animals listed in the SOP.

If your foreign breed meets these standards, then you are ready to file a Certificate of Development. The following steps and forms are provided for you below:

1. Write a letter of intent to the ARBA [Form C]. It should detail your work, and the unique qualities of the proposed breed.
2. The primary breeder/sponsor should fill out the top of Form C.
3. Additional breeders/sponsors should be noted in the proposal and the detailed information provided on Form D
4. Attach a copy of the proposed standard. Be sure that it is in English.
5. Enclose a check for $100 dollars. It should be sent to the ARBA office in Pennsylvania. The address is: ARBA, PO Box 400, Knox, PA 16232.
6. Once your application is confirmed at central office, it will be sent to the Standards Chair for further processing. All CODs must be approved by the ARBA Standards Committee.
   (See pages 20 & 21 for further explanations and details.)
7. Approved CODs will be mailed along with detailed instructions and paperwork.
8. Once an approved COD is issued, the breeder/sponsor has 2 years to further improve/work/study the new breed before exhibition at a national convention.

In conclusion, it is hoped that this information will provide you with a vehicle to pursue CODs in an efficient and informed manner. Please do not hesitate to contact me at the following address:

Cathy Szychulda, ARBA Standards Chair
11725 Wilder Road
Red Bluff, CA 96080
Phone: 530-529-3065
Email: jszychulda@aol.com