Rabbits are the third most commonly used laboratory animal globally, used extensively in toxicology, vaccine testing, and ophthalmic research. Their welfare needs are often poorly met, and alternatives are increasingly available.
Laboratory rabbits experience welfare harms from multiple sources: social isolation, barren environments, stressful handling procedures, and the direct harms of experimental protocols. As prey species, rabbits are highly reactive to novel stimuli and experience fear responses readily — laboratory environments with unfamiliar smells, sounds, and handling are chronically stressful. Individual housing violates their strong social needs. The Draize test causes significant ocular irritation and is criticized by welfare scientists as both cruel and poorly predictive of human responses. Validated in vitro and ex vivo alternatives for many rabbit tests now exist, and regulatory acceptance is growing, but uptake remains incomplete. Improved housing standards — including social housing, enrichment, and positive reinforcement training — can substantially reduce suffering.