Rabbits are the third most farmed animal in Europe, yet have the weakest welfare protections of any major food animal. Barren wire cages, high disease rates, and lack of species-appropriate housing define current intensive rabbit production.
Commercial rabbit farming represents one of the largest welfare failures in European agriculture, affecting hundreds of millions of animals with almost no regulatory protection. Wire cage confinement denies rabbits their most fundamental behavioural needs: digging, hiding, elevated resting, and social interaction in appropriate group sizes. High disease mortality rates signal chronically compromised immune function from stress and poor housing. The contrast with companion rabbit welfare expectations — where hutch sizes once considered adequate are now recognised as severely deficient — illustrates how far commercial standards lag behind welfare science. European legislation specifically addressing rabbit farming welfare is urgently needed and long overdue.