Welfare organisations worldwide are campaigning to replace traditional small hutches with spacious, enriched housing. Evidence-based minimum space standards and companion requirements are driving positive change.
Rabbit housing reform is one of the most straightforward and impactful companion animal welfare campaigns currently active. The evidence is clear, the interventions are simple, and the welfare gains are large. Rabbits in appropriate housing — spacious, enriched, with a companion — show fundamentally different behaviour than those in traditional hutches: they binky (jump with joy), explore, dig, and engage socially. The barriers to change are retail inertia and consumer misinformation — both addressable through education and minimum space standards legislation. Welfare organisations are making measurable progress through retailer engagement, public campaigns, and advocacy for legal minimum housing standards.