Standard for the English Lop

This is portions of the new standard and some of the older ones.

King of the Fancy

There is no doubt that the English Lop is one of the most ideal rabbits for show. They have been in development for hundreds of years and in those years many changes have been made to how the English Lop should be judged. At first, the English Lop was only shown for it's ears. And while people were only focussing on it's ears, the rest of the English Lops was becoming pretty poor. The first standard published for the English was in 1914 by the National Pet Stock (A.R.B.A.). here is what the standard looked like........

This standard was dropped once the English Lop came to America. But, the new standard really favored the ears. In the 1960-65 Standard of Perfection, the English Lop had 10 points on it's body, and 55 points on it's ears. With a minimum length of 18". The standard was updated, and the minimum ear length was raised to 20" in 1981. In 1986, the standard raised the minimum ear length to it's present length of 21", and this length now applied to not only seniors, but intermediates as well. In 1991, the English Lops standard was changes quite a bit, the 21" minimum ear length now applied to seniors, intermediates, and juniors. The ears were still worth more than the body, but the point system was a lot less. Ears were worth 33 points and body was worth 28 points. Finally, the 1996-2000 Standard of Perfection changed the entire way of looking at the English Lop. They raised the body points to 35 and kept the ears at 33 points. Now an English Lop must not be accessed mainly on it's ears, but an overall balance between ears and body. As a show rabbit, the English Lop has gone through many phases in a set judging system.

Thanks to Jay Hreiz for letting me use the "King of the Fancy" part. Visit his English Lop Empire