[sushi_78]

I didn't interpret it as saying that other hamster shows are unethical either. It's called a fair, not a show, and I don't think it's intended to be like a show at all.

I agree that hamster shows have value in that they're an opportunity for breeders to compare their hamsters to others and when they're all judged according to a pre-defined standard it prevents exaggerated characteristics or hamsters that aren't well-rounded (eg a hamster that looks pretty but is really aggressive) from creeping into a species. I can understand the concerns about the small tanks, being woken up etc but I think on balance shows are still a good thing.

Animal shows get a bad name sometimes because some other animal fancies seem more focused on exaggerated characteristics that look interesting to humans. For example I've seen some breeder fancy mice that have these huge satellite dish ears and I'm not a fan of those. Likewise the dogs that have excessively folded skin and so on. Producing an animal that looks nice to humans isn't inherently bad but the priority should always be function and welfare. But I haven't seen anything like that with the hamster fancy in this country.