Standard Chinchilla: a breed shaped by people

ARBA describes the Standard Chinchilla's rapid popularity during the 1920s and its place after the Belgian Hare boom. Those successive enthusiasms help explain how breeders' interests can transform an animal's fortunes. A rush of registrations belongs to a particular historical period; it does not count the rabbits living today. The Standard's own identity must also remain distinct from the larger American and Giant relatives. Calling all three simply Chinchilla would hide the different breeding objectives represented by their size and type. A comparative history should therefore connect them without combining their populations.