Rabbits are among the most intensively farmed yet least regulated animals globally, with significant welfare gaps in housing, enrichment, and slaughter practices.
Farmed rabbits occupy a welfare paradox: they are beloved companion animals in one context and minimally regulated farm animals in another. Rabbits in conventional systems cannot perform core natural behaviours — running, jumping, digging, or hiding. Wire floors cause progressive foot lesions that are painful and difficult to treat. The inability to fully extend the body or perform binkies (joyful jumps) represents a profound restriction of positive welfare. Slaughter practices, including electrical stunning and manual neck-breaking, carry high rates of ineffective stunning in some settings. Welfare improvements — enriched group housing, proper flooring, reliable stunning — are technically feasible and must be driven by regulatory requirements and consumer pressure.