Rabbits are often misunderstood as low-maintenance pets, but they have complex social and environmental needs that are frequently unmet in domestic settings.
Pet rabbits frequently suffer from preventable welfare problems rooted in inadequate housing, improper diet, and lack of social companionship. Small hutch housing restricts natural behaviors like running, binkying, and foraging. Diets high in pellets rather than hay cause dental and gastrointestinal disease. Rabbits housed alone cannot engage in allogrooming and social play essential to their wellbeing. Improved owner education at point of sale and adoption could prevent much of this chronic suffering.