Registration Procedures

Registration is awarded on the basis of individual merit. Each rabbit to be registered must be performance tested and evaluated by an IAGARB judge. Registration of parents does not automatically confer the same status to offspring. IAGARB has no champion or grand champion designation for their rabbits. We have never had it in the past, or in the present, and there are no plans to have it in the future. German Angora rabbits that have been promoted as champion or grand champion German Angoras constitutes false advertising. This practice is to be discouraged as it is contrary to the mandate of the Association.

Guidelines for Registration

1. The rabbit to be registered must be permanently tattooed before it is shorn for certification. Any animal born after January 1, 2008 must comply with the IAGARB tattoo policy.

2. The rabbit must have been sheared no earlierthan 91 days prior to the testing. A certificate stating that the rabbit was sheared to the skin will accompany the rabbit. The certificate must be signed by either another IAGARB member or a veterinarian.

Please use the IAGARB SHEARING CERTIFICATEprovided by clicking on the link.

You should be able to fill out and sign this form online if you prefer.

The shearing certificates are also posted under Files on our IAGARB Facebook page for you to print out. Shearing certificates are needed to verify that a rabbit was shorn no earlier than 91 days prior to judging for registration. Please designate whether this is a testing for Registration or a Wool Test.

The fact that a rabbit has been shorn 90/91 days prior to testing must be verified. The most enjoyable way is to attend a shearing party with other IAGARB members, who can sign your certificate. A practicing veterinarian may also sign for you. A third option is to certify via SKYPE or FaceTime. This requires prior arrangements with the Registrar.

3. A completed IAGARB pedigree and two copies will also be available at that time of testing.

4. A fee of $10.00 per rabbit will be collected before Registration judging. A fee of $12.00 will be collected from non-members who request a non-registration Wool Test.

5. The owner will notify the IAGARB Registration Secretary of his/her intent to have the rabbit evaluated not less than 80 days prior to the testing date, by submitting a copy of the verified shearing certificate to the Registration Secretary. A copy of each rabbit’s pedigree will accompany the Shearing Certificate.

6. During the first stage of evaluation, the owner will present the rabbit, original pedigrees and shearing certificate to the judge. The judge will first check for disqualifications and eliminations. The rabbit should be in excellent condition, healthy and with a matt-free, clean, dry coat unaltered by the addition of any substance. The judge will then evaluate the rabbit’s wool coat, body type, breed conformity and overall condition without comment from the owner. Assessment of the rabbit will be entered as points on the judge’s sheet.

7. For the second part of the evaluation, the rabbit will be returned to the owner. The owner or someone appointed by the owner will shear the rabbit in front of the judge(s) within the time allowed for the judging. When the shearing is complete, the wool will be given over to the judge to verifygrading and record the weights.

8. In order to qualify for IAGARB registration, the rabbit must have earned a minimum of 80 points during the first part of the evaluation. The weight of the wool sheared from the rabbit during performance testing must be a minimum of 325 grams (11.46 oz).

A member has the right to test his or her angoras a total of two times, provided the rabbit was not disqualified during the first test. The second test will be treated as a brand new test. Testing fees will apply. The results of the second test will stand.

9. When a rabbit meets the criteria for registration, the judge will enter the points, wool performance results, testing details and his or her signature on the pedigree form. The judge will send the original pedigree, the judging form and the certificate of shearing to the IAGARB registration secretary.

The judge will retain a copy of the judging form. The owner will have a copy of the pedigree and will be given a copy of the completed judging form. If the rabbit does not meet the criteria for registration, the original pedigree and a copy of the judging form will be returned to the owner. The judge will retain a copy of the pedigree, the shearing certificate and the original judging form. The judge will send copies of the judging form, pedigree (filled out by the judge) and shearing certifcate of all rabbits tested to the Registration Secretary. Testing/Registration events are also considered shearing parties and members may certify animals at that time.

10. The Registration Secretary will enter the results of each registered rabbit into the IAGARB data base, and file the original judging form, certificate of shearing and a copy of the pedigree. The original pedigree form will be completed with the signed seal of IAGARB and sent back to the owner.The Fine Print:

The Fine Print:

• Members of the same household may not sign certificates for each other.
  If the judge / Standards Committee feels that there have been irregularities with respect to the actual shearing date, the membership of the owner testing the rabbit and/or the membership of the person who signed the certificate, the process will be reviewed.
• The owner that is named on the shearing certificate must be the owner at the time of registration.
• If a veterinarian has certified your rabbit, please include the contact information of your veterinarian for verification.

For the complete list of eliminations, disqualifications please look at the Judges Handbook. For Breed Standards on which the German Angora is judged, please click on “Breed Standards.”