Franziska SprengerEnglish Lops · Conservation breeding
Blue English Lop on a tree stump against a dark background, its long ear glowing orange in the backlight

The English Lop is critically endangered in Germany. Become part of its future.

I have been breeding English Lops in blue since 2012, and today in blue-and-white and white as well. Here I share what I know as a breeder and judge.

How to become a breeder Read the guides

49 breeders in Germany still registered English Lops in 2023. Source: BLE, Red List 2025

In 2019, 68 breeders in Germany still reported English Lops. By 2023 there were 49.

Since 2023 the English Lop has been listed as critically endangered on Germany's Red List of native livestock breeds, the highest category. Every breeder who stops leaves a gap that is hard to close. Every new breeder keeps the breed alive.

More about the breed and its situation

From the nest to the show. What an English Lop needs.

What I have learned in more than ten years of breeding and judging, in the order you will need it.

  1. The nest checkHow to check the nest after kindling: give the doe time, prepare your hands and examine and count the young step by step.
  2. Ear care for young rabbitsWhy you need to check the ears of young English Lops regularly, and how to clean and care for sticky, damp ears.
  3. Claw careTrimming the claws regularly protects the delicate ears of young English Lops from injury. This is how to trim claws safely and calmly.
  4. The development of the earsHow the ears of the English Lop develop from the nest to the 6th month of life, and how you can tell early on whether they will reach full length.
  5. Hutch equipmentHow big the hutch for the active English Lop should be and which equipment has proven itself: resting shelf, tree trunk, hay rack, drinker, feeding bowl.
  6. Measuring the ears correctlyHow to measure the ear span and ear width of the English Lop correctly: the right tool, holding the animal and reading the result to the millimetre.
  7. The “crown” of the English LopWhy the English Lop is the only lop breed without a crown, what its typical “hairdo” is and why it does not count in judging.
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An ear that makes a breed.

You recognise the English Lop by its ears: measured from tip to tip, the German standard calls for 54 to 60 centimetres. Ears like that need care, space and a breeder who knows what matters.

I breed three colours. It all began with blue in 2012; blue-white and white came later.

Get to know the breed
  • Young blue English Lop in a wicker basket, its ears hanging over the rim Blue
  • Blue-and-white English Lop seen from the front, its long ears hanging straight down Blue-and-white
  • Red-eyed white English Lop on a blue mat White
Franziska Sprenger at the hutch, a blue English Lop letting its long ears hang over the edge

Three ways to get started.

  1. Write to me. I'll tell you what you need to begin and put you in touch with breeders near you.

  2. Visit a show. At rabbit shows and the yearly IG meeting you can see English Lops up close and meet their breeders.

  3. Get to know the IG. The international IG Englische Widder connects the breeders of this breed. I am its third spokesperson.

How to become a breeder

From the breeders' community.

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