 | This is an essay. It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints. |
 | This page in a nutshell: Wikipedia articles about breeds and other varieties of domesticated animal often show a lack of familiarity with basic Wikipedia policies and guidelines. They are often written off-the-cuff by fanciers or breeders new to Wikipedia, then not cleaned up by anyone for years. This is a summary of key points for how to write them properly. |
Below is a crash course in the basics of writing a breed-related article on Wikipedia, without getting into administrative trouble or having the article deleted. All of Wikipedia's rules apply to breed articles, just like everything else. However, many people who want to write about them are fairly new to Wikipedia and do not understand yet what those policies and guidelines are and how they may apply.
While written mainly with standardized breeds in mind, much of this advice also pertains to landraces and feral populations; hybrids, cross-breeds, and other varietals (often of tamed wild animals rather than true domesticates); and "fancy" varieties and laboratory strains of rodents, which are breeds in all but name. Some of it will also be applicable to writing about plant cultivars, the horticultural equivalent of animal breeds.