Laboratory rabbits have complex social and behavioral needs that are frequently unmet in standard research housing, causing significant welfare harms that improved housing could prevent.
Laboratory rabbit welfare is compromised by a fundamental mismatch between their behavioral needs and standard research housing. Rabbits need space to run, jump, and rear on their hindlegs — behaviors that are impossible in standard small cages. Fear responses that cause powerful kicking can result in spinal fracture — a severe welfare harm that also represents research interference. Social housing with compatible conspecifics reduces stress and abnormal behaviors, yet solitary housing remains common. The same ethical standards applied to primate research should apply to rabbits: their complex behavioral needs require housing environments that allow natural behavioral expression.