Commercial rabbit farming involves confinement systems that severely restrict the natural behaviors of an active, social species, with significant welfare concerns around housing, handling, and slaughter.
Commercial rabbit farming is one of the least-regulated areas of farmed animal welfare in most countries. Conventional battery cages restrict rabbits to a space smaller than their natural bounding gait, preventing the expression of fundamental locomotor behavior. Social isolation, constant confinement, and barren environments cause chronic stress in an animal evolved for social foraging and rapid flight. Enriched systems — providing group housing, hiding areas, elevated platforms, and gnawing materials — dramatically improve behavioral welfare indicators. Consumer awareness of rabbit welfare is lower than for chickens or pigs, making advocacy and certification more challenging.