Rabbits are among the most commonly kept and most frequently mistreated companion animals, with outdated husbandry advice leading to preventable suffering from inappropriate housing, diet, and social deprivation.
Rabbit welfare is in crisis in many countries because husbandry information has lagged decades behind scientific understanding of rabbit needs. Generations of owners kept rabbits in small hutches on muesli mixes, following advice on packaging and from pet shops that was never evidence-based. The consequences are severe: dental disease from insufficient hay affects the majority of pet rabbits; gut stasis from inadequate fiber kills rapidly; rabbits housed alone develop depression and chronic stress. The RSPCA and RWAF have updated guidance that now recommends housing equivalent to a shed and run, but the cultural norm of the small hutch persists. A rabbit kept in a traditional small hutch is suffering chronically.