Rabbits are increasingly produced commercially for meat in battery cage systems that severely restrict natural behaviour. Evidence-based enrichment and group housing in elevated park systems significantly improve welfare while remaining economically viable.
Battery cage rabbits show high rates of stereotypic bar-chewing, fearfulness, and abnormal postures resulting from extreme space restriction and lack of environmental stimulation. They cannot perform the highly motivated locomotor behaviours — running, jumping, digging — that characterise normal rabbit activity. Welfare improvements require elevated park systems that permit natural locomotion, gnawing substrates, hiding areas, and social housing in compatible pairs or groups with appropriate management of reproductive isolation. Certification schemes for welfare-friendly rabbit products are available in some European markets.