Ethical Hamster Fair

[Pebbles82]

It's a nice idea though - to widen the promotion of hamster care. But I can see the concerns - there isn't a lot of information about who the industry professionals are etc. I think it probably stems from enthusiasm for ensuring hamsters are cared for, if it's for a rescue. That particular rescue (and yes I adopted PIp from there) do specify minimum cage sizes etc for people adopting - but not excessively so.

It is maybe a combination of fund raising for the rescue and wanting to raise awareness of hamster care. Although as there will be no hamsters, I would have thought the only people going would be those who already have hamsters!

I understand the concerns though Amethyst. The "one size fits all" approach doesn't always work. Maybe someone should go along and review the event. I can't unfortunately.

Happy Hamsters seem like very nice caring people though. It could just be showing good products versus bad (eg bedding, unsafe cages and wheels etc). I know they use Alaska cages and Hamster Heavens so they must think those are suitable!

Maybe it's the word "ethical" that isn't explained as well. It could mean only using ethical products (like recycled bedding) as opposed to ethical hamster lifestyles. Or it could refer to ethical breeding. The leaflet could have more info!

I would think ethical breeding would be mentioned, with there being so many hamsters rescued.

[Amethyst_ice]

Originally Posted by Ria P

This ethical hamster fair is new so really one would need to attend one to be able to comment reliably.

I'd happily pay the admission fee to find out what is on offer and what exactly they are trying to advocate.

I don't do social media, tried it once for a short time but couldn't fathom this whole following scenario.

As for hamster shows. I've been to one and frankly, i didn't know what to make of it. Yes, it was very interesting to see all the different hamsters but they were kept in tiny holding boxes without water or food as far as i could see. Surely, this can't be a pleasant experience for the hamster. Then i saw one sprawled out on some kind of a rack while the judges inspected them and thought that this was very undignified to say the least for the hamster.
There was a row of very small cages for sale as well. The kind of cages i would try and rescue hamsters from.

I do not have issues with ethical breeders i may add and understand the importance of breeding hamsters for health and temperament and to continue their lines. I have a pedigree dwarf myself for this very same reason but is it really necessary to make a public spectacle of them so the breeder can win a rosette?

I think simply by calling it an ethical hamster show, automatically denotes "regular" shows are enethical, which I firstly take concern over.

Regarding the pens, Souffle can hopefully input more detail here as a qualified judge, and it has been some time since I attended a show! However, usually, a piece of fruit or veg with water content such as apple or cucumber is placed in the pen as well as a dog biscuit. This is the same for many shows, I know in the rat show world it is the same.

The pens are small, yes, but some shows can have over 100 enteries so to have a standard pen size allows planning and logistics and makes showing fair. The hamsters usually curl up and go to sleep and owners bring larger tanks to transport the hamsters to and from shows. They are usually not in the judging pens for more than a few hours as once judging is over,they are released for owners to move and give food, water bottle etc I know I personal "tank train" my rats weeks before a show and if any rat shows distress I simply will not enter him.

The mesh is useful to view the whole hamster and underneath. I used to put my hamster on a rat show pen mesh lid to cut his nails! The judges clean their hands between each hamster and often have snuggles with all, remember everyone loves hamsters so they are not treated as just clinical beings.

The purpose of the shows is not simply to gain rosettes. Wihle some people do become "rosette and trophy collectors", the ethos of hamster shows is to improve the fancy, set standards, share knowledge and allow people to show off and enjoy their hamsters.

Remember, it is not only breeders to who enter shows, many pet owners enter their hamsters in shows too. The stalls available at shows do vary yes and it would be impractical to bring large tanks and HH to shows. I haven;t been for a while but I remember I did get my largest wheel at a show as online at the time was poor.

The shows are also a good opportunity to "hamster train" hamsters, meet other people and for breeders to exchange hamsters to better or continue their lines.

I personally loved them as it was an opportunity to see a variety of hamster types. I always remeber being shocked quite how big syrians were and how "square" they are, compared to tiny "Mousey" syrians I had been used to from pet shops.

They often give talks and demos, I was taught how to teeth check.

I still think it is incredibly expensive, also given that York for many is very far and expensive to get to on public transport. WIth no actual hamsters being their, I am struggling a little to understand the costs.

One thing I like about shows is they are free for the public to wander into and browse and this in turn increases the awareness of hamster keeping

[Pebbles82]

How much is it? I didn't click on the link. I see the point that by calling it ethical suggests other shows aren't ethical! I didn't read it like that - I just saw it as them having an event about hamster care etc - as opposed to the info given out by pet shops. It needs explaining better on the info.

I've always wanted to go to one of the hamster shows and never quite made it. Ria I used to think that about the little pens, but Amethyst has explained it well above. In some ways it's a bit of a day out for a hamster and the checking on the grids is not much different to a check at the vets - except they're probably handled better! And they will sleep during the day as well. Just like they sleep in a pet carrier if you have to take them somewhere. I know some breeders have hamsters available at shows as well and it's one of the few places you can get a breeder hamster without being on a waiting list. Ethical in that I believe they aren't allowed to sell their breedling line hamsters.

Unike most pet "shows" it's not really so much about showing, it's about encouraging the good breeding practices. And a place to learn. If there were no breeder hamster shows, then people would resort to just buying them in pet shops and not know about good breeding.

[Ria P]

It's not called an ethical hamster show but a hamster fair.

I think it's something quite different from regular hamster shows and the fact that there are no live animals involved will appeal to quite a lot of people. People who prefer hamsters to be at home and in the comfort of their nests.

Also, if people are able to buy decent hamster supplies and accessories they won't mind paying the admission because they save that on postage alone when ordering online.

If there's any money left after deducting the expenses and going to Happy Hamsters UK, that's even better.

Well, i'm excited about it and hope that they will also have hamster fairs further south.

[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.

[Pebbles82]

I missed it was called a fair And yes it's probably to help support the rescue as well (and maybe find people who want to adopt too). If you go, do let us know how it was! I can't quite imagine it - assume they will have supplies to sell and leaflets and people to give a talk etc. And maybe people who wouldn't have thought about having a hamster will be keen and get one and look after it properly. The fact that it's at York University makes me think a lot of students will be getting hamsters for their rooms. Thanks for posting it Ria!