Farmed rabbit welfare reform is progressing in the EU and UK through both legislation and voluntary market commitments, moving away from the worst intensive cage conditions.
Farmed rabbit welfare reform requires both regulatory push and consumer pull: without regulatory minimum standards, market competition pressure keeps producers in low-welfare systems; without consumer demand for higher-welfare products, regulation lacks the economic foundation for compliance. The countries that have made most progress on farmed rabbit welfare (Belgium, Germany) have combined both approaches — minimum standards that exclude the worst systems and consumer education that builds market for welfare-certified production. The UK has neither in adequate measure.