Farmed rabbits are highly social animals with strong behavioural needs for movement, hiding, and social interaction that are severely restricted in conventional wire cage production systems.
Farmed rabbits in conventional wire cages experience chronic welfare compromise. The inability to run, jump, or perform natural locomotor behaviours causes frustration in animals with strong motivation for movement. Wire floors cause sore hocks, a painful footpad condition caused by prolonged contact with wire surfaces. Social isolation of solitary housing prevents the social behaviours that rabbits express in wild warrens. Hiding opportunities, which rabbits seek when stressed, are absent in open cage systems. Fear responses triggered by sudden movements or sounds cause acute distress in animals that cannot escape. Rabbit welfare has received substantially less attention than poultry or pig welfare in regulatory and advocacy contexts, despite the scale of production and the significant gap between current practice and animal needs. Group housing in enriched systems with hiding, elevated areas, and gnawing objects can substantially improve welfare.