[radiocricket]

Unfortunately everything that's been said about pure WW in the US is true. Myself and AAA Hamsters in California are the only breeders in the US with pure lines. AAA Hamsters brought her hamsters back personally from Russia. While she was purchasing them, she also had Campbells in her possession and all the breeders she was buying the WW from were actually yelling at her telling her she couldn't breed the WW to the Campbells they saw her holding. Hearing that, she knew they were pure WW. My WW came from AAA's lines and I imported some from a long time UK breeder that AAA recommended to me. That breeder also told me their lines were pure as far as they knew. We've never had anything turn up in our litters to make us think otherwise.

Other than myself and AAA, there are no WW breeders in the US working with pure lines as they have no source for pure hamsters. If they didn't get them from AAA or I (and no one has), nor imported from other respectable breeders, then the chances are just too high that there's hybridization in their background. All the other "WW breeders" in the US got their hamsters from pet stores or other breeders whose lines go back to commercial stock. Unfortunately, there aren't enough good breeders in the US. I can count all the good breeders on one hand. We have more "middle/poor" breeders out there than good. What's worse is these "middle/poor" breeders can talk a good game and people new into the fancy just wouldn't know any better. Just saying that one's lines are pure isn't enough- you have to be able to take them back to their origin, which these breeders can't do. Or if they say they can, you have to look at their reputation in the fancy. Thankfully the forums are out there to help distinguish between them all.

-Janice