Rabbit competition isn't just for kids
Jake Kuntz, a judge certified by the American Rabbit Breeder's Association, judges rabbits for market quality at the Grant County Fair Tuesday.
MOSES LAKE - Tom Bepple has been showing rabbits for 30 years, starting out with 4-H and FFA when he was a kid, and sticking with it as an adult.
Bepple, rabbit superintendent at the Grant County Fair and a rabbit breeder, estimates 80 percent of the rabbits shown at the commercial market rabbit judging Tuesday were provided by him.
What does he like best about rabbits?
"How they taste," he says with a grin.
The rabbits in the commercial market rabbit judging are bred not as pets, but as livestock, he says. All the breeds represented - such as New Zealands, Silver Martens and Silver Foxes - are considered commercial rabbits and they're judged on market quality.
Bepple takes pride in breeding quality rabbits and enjoys passing his wisdom to the kids showing rabbits at the fair, he says.
"I like to see the kids succeed, so I provide them with high quality rabbits," he says. "If one of these kids beat me tomorrow, I'd be so happy for them."
Judge Jake Kuntz has been judging rabbit shows for more than 10 years. He's a licensed judge through the American Rabbit Breeder's Association (ABRA).
The rabbits are judged on their bodies, coats and markings, akin to a dog show, he says.
The rabbits he saw on display at the Grant County Fair were good quality and the kids have worked hard to raise them, he says.