Farmed rabbits are often kept in conditions that prevent nearly all natural behaviors, making rabbit welfare one of the most neglected areas in farm animal welfare.
Rabbits in battery cage systems experience profound behavioral deprivation. As prey animals, they have strong instincts for hiding, burrow exploration, and rapid escape that are entirely prevented in bare wire cages. The combination of chronic fear without refuge, inability to express social preferences, and physical discomfort from wire flooring causes both physical injuries and psychological suffering that welfare researchers describe as severe.