Rabbits are the third most farmed species in Europe with some of the poorest welfare standards. Understanding their needs highlights a significant welfare gap in the food system.
Farmed rabbit welfare represents one of the most significant welfare gaps in European agriculture — a species as cognitively and physically active as pigs or chickens, farmed in conditions that prevent almost all natural behaviour, with minimal regulatory oversight. The wire battery cages that house most European farmed rabbits prevent jumping, running, hiding, and social interaction — all strongly motivated behaviours. This level of deprivation has driven welfare concern and legislative reform for poultry and pigs, but rabbits have received far less attention despite comparable suffering. Consumer awareness of farmed rabbit welfare is low — many consumers who have reduced chicken or pork consumption from welfare concern continue to consume rabbit without awareness of production conditions. Welfare advocacy and consumer pressure are the primary levers for change in the absence of adequate regulation.