The Cashmere Lop was the second breed to become a resident at Upton Lops. It was initially brought in to improve the Dwarf Lops heads and ears. Well, the breed certainly did that, but also became a leading light of the stud in its own right.

Initial stock was purchased from Margaret Dillon, the first National Club Secretary. The Cashmere Lops in the stud today can trace their pedigrees back all those years to these initial rabbits. Here at Upton Lops, the Cashmeres have been shown now for longer than any other stud in the UK, and since this is where the breed originated, well we'll leave you to draw your own conclusions on that! Suffice it to say that the stud of Upton Cashmeres is the longest established line available.

A very great many animals bred at the stud are still winning at many shows, and not always still in the stud's ownership. This line has a tendency to be excellent breeding stock and producing many championship quality animals. Unfortunately, only a small percentage of stock bred can be retained, since Cashmeres tend to be long lived - 2001 saw the death of Supreme Champion Upton's Dudley, a chinchilla, who attained well over 100 stars and was a triple Gold Star BRC Champion. Dudley had reached the grand age of 11 years when he left us!

The first chocolate and lilac cashmere lops were bred at Upton Lops as were the first foxes. A Cinnamon (chocolate agouti) even won Best in Show at the National Club's Spring Stock Show in 2001. I believe this was the first Best in Show by a chocolate series lop anywhere in the country.

Upton Lops was also behind the creation of the bluepoint colour standard, which was then taken up and pioneered by the National Cashmere Lop Club in the 90's. It is fair to say that the bluepoint is now a popular addition to many studs of lops these days, and is even seen occasionally in Netherlands dwarfs.

At Upton Lops, Jane Bramley also created the Miniature Cashmere Lop during her pioneering work with the now hugely popular Miniature Lop. The Mini Cashmere Lop was a natural progression from that, due to the popularity of the long haired original variety in this stud. The Miniature Cashmere was first shown in 1992 at Rotherham Show, but had to wait until 2000 until it attained recognition from the British Rabbit Council. It is now accepted in all the colours of its larger cousin. We foresee a healthy future for this breed.

Cashmere Lops are often seen as a difficult breed to keep. They are not nearly as difficult to maintain as you might expect. They have a long coat it is true to say and this requires weekly attention. The soft juvenile rabbit coat is obviously the hardest to keep up to, but again, we have found the a weekly grooming session of around 15 minutes is sufficient. During moulting this time may need to be extended slightly. This is, of course, dependant on the Cashmere Lop having a correct coat.

For further help and advice just email us at Upton Lops and we will endeavour to help. No Cashmere Lop (or miniature) leaves this stud for a new home without a grooming leaflet and full, careful instructions regarding its care. No Cashmere Lops are ever sold through Pet Retailers from this stud.

For more information on the care and maintenance of a cashmere lop, go to the "New Owners" page