Rabbits are commonly used in pharmaceutical testing and safety assessment and face specific welfare challenges from housing conditions that conflict with their behavioral needs.
Laboratory rabbit welfare has improved significantly through regulatory attention but remains imperfect. Social isolation in standard caging causes visible distress and stereotyped behaviors. Rabbits are prey animals highly attuned to threat, making laboratory environments with unfamiliar smells, sounds, and handling inherently stressful. Their fragile skeletal physiology means inadequate handling or flooring can cause fatal spinal injuries. Pair housing, appropriate enrichment, and skilled low-stress handling are essential welfare requirements. The shift away from rabbit-based safety testing through in vitro alternatives represents a major welfare improvement still being implemented globally.