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What
does a prize winning rabbit need?
Clean ears and a rounded bottom, apparently! Linda Robson went to
meet the Jones family in Portsmouth - where dad Fred has been breeding
rabbits for over 20 years.
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| Linda
wishes Vicky good luck. |
The
Jones's have over 60 rabbits, and Linda borrowed one of them, a
Sable Martin called Vicky.
Linda entered Vicky in the City of Portsmouth Rabbit Fanciers Show,
which is attended by bunnies and their owners from all over the
South.
Vicky
faced competition from the likes of English Lops and Black and Tans,
including some bred by the Jones's, all hoping to win the coveted
title 'Best in Show'.
| "If
a rabbit's tail goes up on end, 9 times out of 10 they're going
to wee on you." |
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Andrew
Jones
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Fred's
son Andrew breeds English Lops, and met his girlfriend while visiting
the rabbit section of the New Forest show.
Andrew says he couldn't go out with anyone who didn't like rabbits,
because there would be nothing to talk about.
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| Andrew
and his girlfriend |
Grandparents
Eddie and Marie also met at a show and have been breeding rabbits
together ever since.
They tend to go to rabbit shows three weekends out of four and have
friends all over the country.
There are several judges and a winner is picked from each class.
One lucky rabbit then wins the top prize.
| "It's
our entire life. We could go the length of the M1 and at any
junction we could meet a rabbit fancier that we class as a friend." |
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Marie
Jones
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Desperate Linda jokingly offered the judges a bribe but they turned
away - only interested in the perfect rabbit, and Vicky came close.
After a tense round of judging Vicky was down to the final two,
but another Jones rabbit, entered by Fred, was declared best of
class.
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| Best
of Show - Buttons |
In the end though, the Jones's lost out to Buttons, who won Best
of Show to the delight of her owner, Marie.
Never mind. There are dozens of shows all over the country and the
Jones's are determined to keep breeding winners.
Linda Robson reported for
Inside
Out
Don't worry if you missed the programme, you can view
Linda's report here
Surprising stories from familiar places.
Mondays, BBC1, 7:30pm
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