Rabbits farmed for meat face severe welfare challenges in conventional cage systems. Alternative welfare-positive production systems exist but require consumer support to scale.
Farmed rabbit welfare is one of the most neglected areas of farm animal protection. The species receives little regulatory attention, and conventional battery cage systems impose severe behavioral deprivation on animals with significant movement and social needs. Rabbits in tiny cages cannot jump, run, or fully extend their bodies. High mortality rates from respiratory disease — amplified by crowding and poor ventilation — add health-based welfare concerns to behavioral ones. Park systems and enriched alternatives demonstrate that higher welfare rabbit production is commercially viable. Consumer demand for welfare-certified rabbit products and advocacy for EU regulatory reform are the most effective levers for change.