Is it irresponsible to breed rabbits?

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+1 what @Bunnylady and @townchicks said. We breed Hollands (we're focusing on BEW, black and dilutes for show), and Netherland Dwarves (focusing on martens and sable points). Our pedigree lines are a slow and constantly improving process, and we're just now getting results that are what I'd consider show candidates. We've sent a lot of buns to pet homes getting to where we're at, and even now "pedigreed and showable" isn't "show worthy" in my book, so we're super selective about what rabbits leave our rabbitry with pedigrees for show, and we've been very picky about breeding stock as well because you want to start with the best you can afford. Every litter has pet rabbits. Not every litter has a show winner. If you decide to get into breeding, you WILL end up with many times more pet quality buns than showable ones. There isn't any way to avoid that unless you pedigree out every single kit you wean and that can lead to a poor impression of the quality of your animals for showing in your local area (EG, the "showable vs show quality" comments). It's up to you to decide how you handle those non-show rabbits, but I can say from experience that Hollands seem to find new homes faster than a lot of other breeds, and if they're cute, you'll have a line of people beating your door down. Figure out where the pet price range is in your area, keep them priced high enough that they're unattractive to people who want to use them as snake food, and plan your litters out so that you're not overworking your brood stock or ending up with a dozen kits sitting around the house. Remember, you have to feed them until they leave. :)

You're going to get hate as a breeder, typically from people who don't know or don't understand what you're trying to do (or just have some kind of trigger about animals locked in cages and the inhumane breeding of rabbits). You can't stop them, and you shouldn't bother, Let your product and conduct speak for themselves, and you'll never have a need to defend yourself or your rabbitry. Exceptions exist, of course, but generally this should apply.

You're also likely going to find a local rabbiting community that is generally supportive and understands what you're going through and can offer advice and support. I've found in my local community that we all tend to support one another even though we're technically competitors. People swap stock to improve bloodlines, seek advice on pairings to develop specific traits, recommend each other for animals of specific breed, gender, or color type, etc... Even so much as to call out bad or deceptive breeders and make sure people are warned about them before they waste money. It's definitely a niche kind of community, but it is certainly a strong one.

Re: Meat rabbits. Personally, that's a No for us, I'm already struggling to get the kids to accept butchering chickens as it is, and they like them less than our buns. However as a business / subsistence model, I have no issues with it. Holland Lops only get to 3-4 pounds and are not really the right breed for meat production though. Rex, Californians, New Zelands, and a few others are purpose bred for meat and/or fur, and make far better (and less expensive to get) candidates for that market.
 
It is not irresponsible if you have the room and the desire to keep those that do not get sold. It is irresponsible if you breed just to sell and do not have the room to keep those that do not get sold. I suppose I had better add imho!
 
My mother used to breed New Zealand white rabbits and she has a close friend who breeds mini lops. My mother mainly bred for two things temperament and meat. Before each litter my mother would have a list of who wanted how many, mainly to other breeders or people interested in meat. Around ten years ago now, after my mother had her second child, and sold all of her stock to another breeder.

No. I most certainly don't think that breeding rabbits is irresponsible, just make sure you have the room, and limit the does to no more that 3-4 litters a year. Hopefully this helped you some :)
 
Also, I have heard that the smushed faces of holland lops and netherland dwarves can cause dental malocclusion and difficulty breathing. As a breeder, I believe it's your duty to improve the breed and get it as close to the SOP as possible. But if that means breeding bunnies with a poor quality of life... I don't know about that.
What do you all think?
 

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