At Beh & Yo, we don't breed rabbits for profit - we find them new homes. We adore every rabbit we breed, and we won't sell them to people who aren't capable of looking after them. We don't just breed rabbits... we love rabbits.
We have been keeping rabbits as pets since 2003. In 2004, we started breeding rabbits from home. In 2006, we decided to enter the rabbit breeding business and opened a farm in Semenyih, Selangor in April 2006. We are also members of ARBA (American Rabbit Breeders Association) and an ARBA Registered Rabbitry. We breed only quality rabbits in our farm. We breed Holland Lop, Netherland Dwarf and Dwarf Hotot rabbits.
This passion initially came out of the blue, but we're both so glad it did. You could say that rabbits chose us. There we were, living our lives, when we happened upon a pet store one day. After falling in love, we decided to buy two beautiful rabbits.
But what should have been a joyous occasion quickly became a very worrying time. The seller who sold us our beautiful animals failed to inform us about their health history. They became ill very quickly, but because we were in the dark about their condition, we didn't know what to do.
With no other options available to us, we took our rabbits to a local vet. But by that time, our beautiful bunnies were weak and suffering from a range of unrelated health issues. And because we couldn't trace the animals back to a breeding source, the vet couldn't treat them effectively. Within a few days, one of our rabbits sadly died. The second survived, but died suddenly a few months later.
That's when we decided to start breeding rabbits ethically. We didn't want other people to go through such a distressing time. Most importantly, however, we wanted to ensure that pet rabbits in Malaysia were treated with respect and dignity.
We've been breeding rabbits ethically and sustainably since 2004. And after two years of steady growth, we opened our farm in Semenyih, Selangor in 2006. We started breeding our first pure-breed rabbits at that time - Netherland Dwarfs. And after a great deal of success, we added Holland Lop and Dwarf Hotot rabbits to our portfolio.
Over the years, we've experienced our ups and downs - just like any business. An outbreak of the rabbit disease "snuffles" - from a rabbit we imported from the US - infected our entire herd in 2011. But, eventually, we lost the entire herd. This was a huge blow for us - both emotionally and financially.
During the snuffles outbreak, we had to stop breeding, as the disease is highly contagious. And instead of culling them, we gave our beautiful bunnies, the best possible chance. We chose the welfare of our animals over profits.
After losing our herd, we took some time to plan and rebuild. For 10 months, we didn't have any rabbits. We wanted to take our time to ensure we found a US breeder we could trust. And we're glad we did. We managed to find top breeders for each of the breeds we work with. Because we found such amazing breeders, our Holland Lop, Dwarf Hotot and Netherland Dwarf rabbits are always fit, happy and healthy.
We prefer to source our rabbits from the US because they have clear and stringent standards of animal welfare and rabbit breeding. To ensure we follow the same high standards, we comply with all the regulatory standards created by the American Rabbit Breeders Association (ARBA).
And because of these relationships, our customers buy from us in complete confidence. Every rabbit we sell has a complete breeding history that can be traced back to our fantastic US suppliers.
We wouldn't have recovered and now be where we are today without the help of our amazing US breeders. They continue to send us breeding rabbits of the highest quality. Our gratitude and thanks go to: Chris Zemny, Leslie Bond, Tonna Thomas, Paula Courtney, Lesa Rose and Judy Ingersoll. We couldn't have done this without you!
We want to be there for our customers when they have questions about caring for their rabbits. We're determined to ensure what happened to us doesn't happen to anyone else. Whether you need help with nutrition or grooming, we'll be here to provide you with the guidance you need.
In recent years, our reputation for breeding rabbits ethically and sustainably has attracted thousands of customers. In 2020, we opened our first flagship store in Kuala Lumpur. As well as selling purebred rabbits, we also provide grooming and boarding services for small animals. And to ensure the safety of the animals in our care, we don't accept cats or dogs.
We like to think of Beh & Yo as a family. We've expanded considerably in recent years - opening a new warehouse and barn in Kapar, Klang in 2020. And as our business has grown, so has our wonderful team. Across our barn, warehouse and retail stores, we now have 20 fully trained, conscientious staff members - all of whom are committed to the health and welfare of the rabbits and small animals in our care.
As our reputation grows, so does our business. In January 2022, we've launched our second flagship store near KLCC, which will showcase our breeding, grooming and boarding services. We're also trialing a new service called "Soulmate". This involves giving customers some time to play with rabbits in a private room - which is both therapeutic and educational.
We're also proud to say we're the sole distributor of Oxbow Animal Health products in Malaysia. We've been supplying these fantastic products to rabbit owners since 2008. Particularly popular with local owners are Show Rabbit Feed pellets, which we've been importing from the US for more than a decade.
Beh received his ARBA judge license in April 2022. He is the first - and only - ARBA (American Rabbit Breeders Association) judge in Malaysia. Also, Beh is currently president of the Malaysian Rabbit Breeders Association - the only ARBA-chartered rabbit club in Malaysia.
Because the welfare of our rabbits will always be our top priority, customers feel confident buying their pets from Beh & Yo. We're growing fast because we're helping more rabbit owners than ever before - we hope to open more flagship stores across Malaysia in the coming years.