Rabbits are among the most widely used laboratory animals and have specific welfare needs around social housing, handling, and the avoidance of fear responses during procedures.
Laboratory rabbit welfare has historically been underprioritised relative to rodent welfare despite rabbits being both cognitively complex and highly susceptible to fear-induced welfare harm. Inappropriate handling causes acute stress that invalidates experimental data as well as causing welfare harm. The validation of the Rabbit Grimace Scale enables objective pain monitoring that is now being incorporated into research practice. Social housing remains a persistent gap: while rabbits are clearly social animals, laboratory social housing is challenging to manage and many institutions default to single housing without rigorous justification. The 3Rs require that this default be challenged.