Rabbit farming is large-scale in Europe and China but receives little public attention, with intensive cage-based production causing severe welfare harm to highly social and active animals.
Rabbit farming welfare is a largely invisible issue compared to chicken and pig welfare despite involving a billion animals in similarly intensive conditions. Rabbits in wire cages cannot perform fundamental natural behaviours: hopping, jumping, hiding, digging, or forming stable social groups. Wire flooring causes pododermatitis — painful foot lesions — and prevents normal postural movement. Rabbits are prey animals with an extremely strong fear response that makes intensive handling highly stressful. Mortality rates in intensive rabbit farming can reach 20-30% — far exceeding most other farmed species — reflecting the profound mismatch between intensive conditions and rabbit welfare needs. Consumer awareness of rabbit farming welfare is low, limiting the market pressure that has driven improvements in chicken welfare.