Rabbit meat is consumed widely in Southern Europe and increasingly globally, but farmed rabbits are kept in some of the most intensive conditions of any farmed species — with correspondingly severe welfare deficits.
Rabbit farming welfare is among the most neglected in farmed animal policy despite the number of animals involved. The conventional cage system produces animals whose entire reproductive lives are spent in spaces that prevent natural locomotion, social behaviour, and most species-typical activities. The physiological demands of continuous breeding cycles, combined with high disease rates in crowded environments, result in short, painful lives for breeding does. Consumer awareness of rabbit farming conditions is low compared to poultry or pork, giving welfare advocates a significant education challenge. The development of improved housing systems — colony housing, park systems — demonstrates that more welfare-friendly production is feasible, but uptake requires either regulatory mandates or consumer pressure through certified labelling.