Rabbits are the third most popular pet in the UK but also the most neglected. Traditional hutch housing fails to meet their complex social and behavioural needs.
Rabbits are prey animals with strong instincts to run, leap, dig, and forage — behaviours that are entirely impossible in the small hutches still sold in many pet shops. Solitary housing violates their need for social companionship; wild rabbits live in complex social groups. The mismatch between traditional rabbit keeping and rabbit welfare needs is so severe that organisations like the RSPCA now classify rabbits among the most welfare-compromised pets in the UK. The five needs framework — diet, environment, behaviour, companionship, and health — provides a useful guide to rabbit-keeping reform.