ANRA Breed Standards for Rats & Mice. News From the Nest, ANRA's quarterly publication. Link to the Rodentzone rescue welfare and Adoption service.
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The AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL RODENT ASSOCIATION. (Queensland Chapter)     The Australian National Rodent Association(ANRA)was formed in August 1997, in Brisbane, Queensland. At that time there didn't seem to be any rodent clubs operating in Qld, following the closure of the first club, the Queensland Mouse Club, some months before. With many interested pet-owners of both rats & mice, a forum of some type was needed where people could meet & share their love of these wonderful pets. Up until the beginning of 1999, we had been operating in the capacity of an online club. We held our first Allbreeds Championship show for rats and mice in March 2000, with 4 Rodent Shows per year held after that, held between the months of March and November, as to avoid the hottest weather periods. 2002 was a quiet year for ANRA & no shows were held. With the start of 2003, came a new, innovative & much safer way to exhibit your Rats & Mice, than the style of show we'd previously held. We have adopted a unique appraisal system in the place of the previous public exhibitions. ANRA were originally affiliated with Tamrattans Vanner(Friends of Fancy Rats) in Sweden and used their Standards for Rats as a guide. Our Mouse Standards are based on those of the National Mouse Club(UK). ANRA's Official Breed standard for both Rats and Mice finds its base in Genetic fact. Since it's original inception, ANRA's official standards have grown to accomodate a number of recently standardised varieties, as well as two added sections. The standardisation of a new Breed, Variety or Colour is not something to be undertaken lightly. It's a complex process, requiring detailed records about the breeding of the lines & the genetics involved. The added sections to our original Standards include a guidestandard, for all the varieties genetically described, that either don't seem to be available in Australia, or are very rare/hardly seen. Along with an Unstandardised section for varieties of Mouse & Rat still in development, and/or awaiting standardisation. We encourage all of our members breeding rats and mice to use the genetics approach. This lessens the chance of confusion with colours and markings. It improves type and colour of the individual breeds, and helps when estimating the outcome of matings. We can help out with advice on genetics, breeding, and all aspects of Rodent keeping. Should anyone have any questions on any rodent related issue we'll do our best to help. We can be reached by email at anraqld@hotmail.com ANRA have a comprehensive Registration system whereby both individual rats and mice as well as litters can be registered with us. Your pets don't need to be registered with us to be shown, however they do need to be registered to earn championship points from their show wins. These points are what goes towards championship titles. We are the Queensland Chapter of ANRA. We hope to start up a new chapter of ANRA in each state of Australia. There is also a possibility in the future of becoming an international organisation. For all enquiries please contact the secretary, either on email or by post to the address below. |
Australian National Rodent Association
anraqld@hotmail.com |