Sharpie in the "wrong" ear

[yanni]

If I have junior rabbits with fairly new tattoos (ink still there so the ID is unclear) and a sharpie used in the "wrong" ear so I can identify individual rabbits, would I be in trouble on the show table?

 

[Secuono]

Use Goop to remove it before the show?

 

[Bad Habit]

What about just putting a dot of colour in the tattooed ear, and explain to the judges? You can get sharpies in every colour under the sun anymore, and if the tattoo is fresh and obviously unclear at the moment, I would think they would understand...

 

[skysthelimit]

You can get put off the table for an illegible tattoo.

 

[akane]

It would be up to the judge but that could definitely be a DQ. I'd try to get the sharpie removed and you'll need clear tattoos before you can show them anyway so the sharpie will be unnecessary.

 

[Whipple]

My buck got his tattoo done at his first show. They rubbed the ink in then cleaned off excess with a baby wipe. Can't you wipe off the excess ink before the show?

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Just clean the excess ink off of the tattoos, and clean the Sharpie marks out of the left ears. You can use rubbing alcohol or witch hazel.

 

[yanni]

Thanks for all the tips! I'll give them a try.

 

[horselover09]

My son put his rabbit tattoo in the right ear instead of the left is there any way to get the ink out of the tattoo. Because I tattoo the left ear for him so now she has two tattoo or will it not matter at the show

 

[Alaska Satin]

My son put his rabbit tattoo in the right ear instead of the left is there any way to get the ink out of the tattoo. Because I tattoo the left ear for him so now she has two tattoo or will it not matter at the show

The right ear is supposed to be reserved for an ARBA Registration tattoo (which many rabbits never get). As far as I know, there shouldn't be any problem on the show table as long as there is a legible permanent tattoo in the left ear.

I don't know how to remove the tattoo, and I would hesitate to try because if you damage the ear while trying, that will be a problem on the show table.

 

[tambayo]

If you want to remove a tattoo, i'd contact a tattoo parlor for humans, some also do laser removal for instance on gang tattoos. However if they are willing to help you with an animal for this and if it is legal and possible given the tissue of the ear to do so, i don't know.

 

[jaxmarblebuns]

It would be considered a fault. A distraction from the over all appearance of the rabbit that will subtract points, but does not result in a disqualification. (Or would be treated the same as pee stains or long toe nails)
Rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball should get it out, might need to scrub a little. (Ps most county/small town fairs will not subtract points for stuff like this).

 

[Alaska Satin]

It would be considered a fault. A distraction from the over all appearance of the rabbit that will subtract points, but does not result in a disqualification. (Or would be treated the same as pee stains or long toe nails)
Rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball should get it out, might need to scrub a little. (Ps most county/small town fairs will not subtract points for stuff like this).

I don't know any judges who would consider a tattoo in the right ear a fault. Many rabbits DO have tattoos in both ears (left is identification, right is registration number or symbol), which actually often marks them as having a certain level of quality, given that they have been approved by an ARBA registrar.

In fact, the ARBA Standard glossary defines "tattoo" as, "A permanent identification mark in the left ear or both ears of a rabbit."

If the tattoos in both ears were identical, a judge might have a "hmmm" moment, but it's not a fault.

Generally tattoos are not distracting; in many breeds they are not even noticeable unless you look for them. If you attempted to remove a tattoo, however, you could could cause damage that would detract from the overall appearance of the animal.

 

[RabbitsOfTheCreek]

I haven't seen a rabbit with a tattoo in the other ear, but to be fair I haven't gone looking

 

[jaxmarblebuns]

I don't know any judges who would consider a tattoo in the right ear a fault.

I just asked the judges at our state fair show and they said it would count as a fault if it was not pre-approved (sometimes coop numbers are put in the rabbits ears at state, hence why I was asking) and that was the answer they gave me.

OP said a “sharpie marke” in the wrong ear. That is not a tattoo, and knowing how I use sharpie to ID it was probably a colored stripe or letters too bold/warn/squiggly to pass as a legible tattoo (I’ll admit I am guessing at that one because they did not say what the “sharpie mark” looked like), but they said nothing about an actual tattoo in the wrong ear. Like I said, I have ARBA judge verification on this.

 

[Alaska Satin]

I just asked the judges at our state fair show and they said it would count as a fault if it was not pre-approved (sometimes coop numbers are put in the rabbits ears at state, hence why I was asking) and that was the answer they gave me.

OP said a “sharpie marke” in the wrong ear. That is not a tattoo, and knowing how I use sharpie to ID it was probably a colored stripe or letters too bold/warn/squiggly to pass as a legible tattoo (I’ll admit I am guessing at that one because they did not say what the “sharpie mark” looked like), but they said nothing about an actual tattoo in the wrong ear. Like I said, I have ARBA judge verification on this.

I was actually responding to @horselover09 asking about her son's tattooing the wrong ear rather than the OP about the Sharpie marks.

I have also talked with ARBA licensed judges, whose comments included the observations that there is no fault listed in the SOP regarding a tattoo in the right ear, and also that that's where the registration number goes. (Nearly every rabbit in my barn that has reached senior weight is registered.)

The only thing in the SOP that any of us could find that would allow faulting a rabbit for a tattoo in either ear, or anywhere else for that matter, is if, in the judge's opinion, it somehow detracted from the overall appearance of the rabbit. That lies within each judge's discretion to decide, and as such is incontestable in each case.

Judges are human and the SOP allows for many discretionary judgments, so unless the rabbit is ill or otherwise unhealthy, I always encourage exhibitors to enter their rabbits.