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Animal fancy is a
hobby
A hobby is considered to be a regular activity that is done for enjoyment, typically during one's leisure time. Hobbies include collecting themed items and objects, engaging in creative and artistic pursuits, playing Sport, sports, or pursu ...
involving the appreciation, promotion, or breeding of
pet
A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive appearances, intelligence ...
or
domestic animal
This page gives a list of domesticated animals, also including a list of domestication of animals, animals which are or may be currently undergoing the process of domestication and animals that have an extensive relationship with humans beyond simp ...
s.
Fancy may include ownership, showing,
animal sports
Animals in sport are a specific form of working animals. Many animals, at least in more commercial sports, are highly trained. Two of the most common animals in sport are horses and dogs.
Types of animal sporting events
There are many types o ...
and other competitions, and
breeding
Breeding is sexual reproduction that produces offspring, usually animals or plants. It can only occur between a male and a female animal or plant.
Breeding may refer to:
* Animal husbandry, through selected specimens such as dogs, horses, and ra ...
. Hobbyists may simply collect specimens of the animal in appropriate enclosures (
vivaria
A vivarium (Latin, literally for "place of life"; plural: ''vivaria'' or ''vivariums'') is an area, usually enclosed, for keeping and raising animals or plants for observation or research. Water-based vivaria may have open tops providing they a ...
), such as an
aquarium
An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...
,
terrarium
A terrarium (plural: terraria or terrariums) is usually a sealable glass container containing soil and plants that can be opened for maintenance to access the plants inside; however, terraria can also be open to the atmosphere. Terraria are ofte ...
, or
aviary
An aviary is a large enclosure for confining birds, although bats may also be considered for display. Unlike birdcages, aviaries allow birds a larger living space where they can fly; hence, aviaries are also sometimes known as flight cages. Av ...
. Some fanciers keep
hobby farm
A hobby farm (also called a lifestyle block in New Zealand, or acreage living or rural residential in Australia) is a smallholding or small farm that is maintained without expectation of being a primary source of income. Some are held merely to ...
s, or
menageries (private
zoo
A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes.
The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zoo ...
s). There are many animal fancy clubs and associations in the world, which cater to everything from
pigeon
Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...
s to
Irish Wolfhounds. Fanciers and fancierdom may collectively be referred to as ''the fancy'' for that kind of animal, e.g. the cat fancy.
Animal fancy includes the keeping of animals considered
exotic pets
An exotic pet is a pet which is relatively rare or unusual to keep, or is generally thought of as a wild species rather than as a domesticated pet. The definition varies by culture, location, and over time—as animals become firmly enough esta ...
; a rapidly growing
''Reptiles now more popular pets than dogs'' By Jasper Copping, The Telegraph.c.uk 2008
/ref> example is herpetoculture
Herpetoculture is the keeping of live reptiles and amphibians in captivity, whether as a hobby or as a commercial breeding operation. "Herps" is an informal term for both reptiles and amphibians, shortened from the scientific umbrella term “he ...
, the keeping of reptiles and amphibians.
Organizations
Some examples of international animal fancy organizations are:
* Avicultural Society, an organization for the keeping and breeding of all types of birds other than domesticated varieties, with various national chapters; founded in 1894.
* Fédération Cynologique Internationale
The Fédération cynologique internationale (FCI) (English: International Canine Federation) is the largest international federation of national kennel clubs. It is based in Thuin, Belgium.
History
The FCI was founded in 1911 under the auspices ...
(FCI), an international federation of many national kennel clubs (dog fancier and breeder organizations), founded in 1911. Not all prominent national clubs are affiliated, including the American Kennel Club.
* Fédération Internationale Féline
The Fédération Internationale Féline (FIFé) (in English "International Feline Federation") is a federation of cat registries. There are currently forty-two member organizations in forty countries. Membership spans Europe, South America, and ...
(FIFe), an international federation of many national cat fancier and breeder organizations, founded in 1949. Many notable national clubs are not affiliated; the US-based Cat Fanciers' Association
The Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) was established in the United States in 1906. The CFA is currently the world's largest registry of pedigreed cats. Originally headquartered in Manasquan, New Jersey the CFA moved to Alliance, Ohio in 2010. ...
(CFA) is not, while the UK has a FIFe affiliate it also has the competing Governing Council of the Cat Fancy
The Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF) is a cat registry, established in 1910 and the largest organisation that registers pedigree cats in the United Kingdom. It was formed from a small number of cat clubs which were registering cats ...
(GCCF).
* International Butterfly
Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...
Breeders Association (IBBA), an organization for commercial butterfly "farmers", as well as hobbyists, founded in 1998.
* International Herpetological
Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning " reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians (gymnophiona)) and r ...
Society (IHS), an organization for both research regarding and propagation of reptiles and amphibian
Amphibians are tetrapod, four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the Class (biology), class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terres ...
s, founded in 1969.
For many species of domesticated animal there are no international groups, but numerous unrelated national organizations, e.g. the American Poultry Association
The American Poultry Association (APA) is the oldest poultry organization in the North America. It was founded in 1873, and incorporated in Indiana in 1932.
The first American poultry show was held in 1849, and the APA was later formed in respo ...
, and the New Zealand Cavy
Caviidae, the cavy family, is composed of rodents native to South America and includes the domestic guinea pig, wild cavies, and the largest living rodent, the capybara. They are found across South America in open areas from moist savanna to tho ...
Club. They may commingle the interests of keepers of pet and show animals, and breeders of livestock and working animals (e.g. the British Horse Society
The British Horse Society (BHS) is a membership-based equine charity, with a stated vision of "a Society which provides a strong voice for horses and people and which spreads awareness through support, training and education". It currently has ...
), or focus on one or the other (e.g. the British Show Horse Association
The British Show Horse Association (BSHA) is the governing body for the showing and registering of hacks, cobs and riding horses.
Aims and Objectives
The aims of the association are to improve the standard of horses shown under their rules, to ...
). For some species, there are few multi-breed organizations, but many breed-specific clubs, e.g. the Australian Stock Horse
The Australian Stock Horse (or Stockhorse), has been especially bred for Australian conditions. It is a hardy breed of horse noted for endurance, agility, and good temperament. Its ancestry dates to the arrival of the first horses in Aus ...
Society, the Parthenais Cattle
The Parthenaise is a French cattle breed. It is named for the town of Parthenay in the département of Deux-Sèvres, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of western France. It was formerly a triple-purpose breed, raised for milk, meat and draugh ...
Breeders Association, the Bernese Mountain Dog
The Bernese Mountain Dog (german: Berner Sennenhund) is a large dog breed, one of the four breeds of Sennenhund- type dogs from Bern, Switzerland and the Swiss Alps. These dogs have roots in the Roman mastiffs. The name ''Sennenhund'' is derived ...
Club of New Zealand, etc. Single-breed clubs often exist regardless of the establishment of multi-breed groups, and may or may not affiliate with them, while national organizations often have subnational affiliates. Organizations at any level may combine the features of a breed registry
A breed registry, also known as a herdbook, studbook or register, in animal husbandry and the hobby of animal fancy, is an official list of animals within a specific breed whose parents are known. Animals are usually registered by their breeder ...
, a fanciers' membership organization
A membership organization is any organization that allows people or entities to subscribe, and often requires them to pay a membership fee or "subscription". Membership organizations typically have a particular purpose, which involves connecting pe ...
, a competition governing body, a trade association
A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific Industry (economics), industry. An industry tra ...
, a preservation
Preservation may refer to:
Heritage and conservation
* Preservation (library and archival science), activities aimed at prolonging the life of a record while making as few changes as possible
* ''Preservation'' (magazine), published by the Nat ...
group, and other categories, and may be nonprofits or commercial enterprises. Similar species-specific clubs exist for various non-domesticated species, e.g. the Golden Conure
The golden parakeet or golden conure, (''Guaruba guarouba''), is a medium-sized golden-yellow Neotropical parrot native to the Amazon Basin of interior northern Brazil. It is the only species placed in the genus ''Guaruba''.
Its plumage is most ...
Society and the American Fancy Rat
The fancy rat (''Rattus norvegicus domestica'') is the domesticated form of ''Rattus norvegicus'', the brown rat, and the most common species of rat kept as a pet. The name ''fancy rat'' derives from the use of the noun '' fancy'' for a hobby, ...
and Mouse
A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...
Association.
See also
* Animal show
An animal show is a form of exhibition featuring the display or performance of one or more breeds of animal.USDA Animal Welfare Act, Licensing and Registration, APHIS USDA (retrieved 26 May 2012)
Purpose
An animal show can be for entertainment ...
* Animals in sport
Animals in sport are a specific form of working animals. Many animals, at least in more commercial sports, are highly trained. Two of the most common animals in sport are horses and dogs.
Types of animal sporting events
There are many types o ...
* Novelty pet
An exotic pet is a pet which is relatively rare or unusual to keep, or is generally thought of as a wild species rather than as a domesticated pet. The definition varies by culture, location, and over time—as animals become firmly enough esta ...
* Fandom
A fandom is a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of empathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significant ...
, more generally
References
{{reflist
Animal care occupations
Hobbies
Pets