Purpose of the CRSC

The purpose of the Club shall be to promote and improve the breeding of Californian rabbits; to encourage the exhibition of the Californian; to advance and protect the interests of the public as well as those of the breeders by the dissemination of authentic and reliable information concerning their value for food, fur and show; and to cooperate with other organizations in the promotion of Californian rabbit breeding in general.

History of the CRSC

In 1946, A. O. Kelly Jr., of University City, Missouri, started the organization of the Californian Specialty Club. The club was started to stimulate the improvement of the Californian rabbit and make it prominent on the show table.

In early 1947 a Constitution and By-Laws was adopted and application made to the American Rabbit Breeders Association Fifty members from sixteen states were in the original group. In 1948 Wesley Dixon was elected President and by 1952 the club had grown to 290 members from 30 states and Hawaii.

The first Californian rabbit was shown at South Gate, California in 1928. The 1932 ARBA Convention in Pittsburgh, PA. was the first convention that the Californian was shown. The breed was given a working Standard in 1939. On March 7, 1948 a special meeting was held in Bakersfield, California to complete a new Standard that had been presented at the 1947 Milwaukee, WI. Convention for discussion. The Standard as drawn up and approved at the meeting was mailed to the membership for approval. The Standard was approved, presented, and accepted by the ARBA at the Long Beach Convention in 1949. Prior to 1955 some other changes were made in the Standard and again a clarification was made concerning smut on the usable portion of the pelt. Our standard was rewritten in 1965 under chairman William A. Schaefer of Windsor, Connecticut. The Standard was updated again in 1980 with points allotted for condition. The 1991-95 Standard had some minor word changes and the 1995-2000 standard was updated with wording and some changes in weight classifications. The "New 2011-15 ARBA Standard of Perfection" will be available at the ARBA Convention in November held at Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The name of the Californian Rabbit Specialty Club was adopted in 1959 to make it clear to people other than rabbit breeders that a Californian is a rabbit.

Many changes have been made in our Constitution and By-Laws over the years in order to upgrade and advance our breed.

Our breeders have become more skillful over the years. As a result the competition has attained a very high level. The Californian rabbit has won Best in Show at ARBA Convention four times. Mark and Clyde Henry of Michigan in 1975, Brian Rice of Indiana in 1981, Trudy Hannon of California in 1982 and J.R. Wilson of South Carolina in 1988. Will you be the next to "WIN!" this honor?

During the 1981-82 show season the sweepstakes contest winners posted over 24,000 points. The runner up during this time period totaled over 20,000 sweepstakes points, third place had over 17,000. This was a sensational occurrence and has not been accomplished since that time.

The Californian Rabbit Specialty Club formally recognized it's youth members before any other Specialty Club. Our youth members have enjoyed the same privileges as the adults since 1958. A youth sweepstakes contest is held annually (starting July 1st - June 30th) each year with excellent competition by our youth members.

Over the years many wonderful people have continued the advancement of the Californian rabbit. To the people we all owe a debt of gratitude.

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