Rabbit meat production is concentrated in Europe and China, with welfare standards in intensive systems often below those for comparable species, and a growing movement toward enriched and group housing.
Farmed rabbit welfare receives less attention than poultry or pig welfare despite comparable numbers of animals involved. Rabbits are prey animals with a strong need for hiding, burrowing, and running — behavioral needs that wire-cage individual housing systematically denies. Stereotypic behavior rates in conventional rabbit farms are high, reflecting chronic frustration. The welfare science supporting enriched colony housing is robust and implementation is feasible at commercial scale. The primary barriers are industry inertia and the absence of consumer awareness that rabbit welfare requires attention comparable to other farmed species.