Pet rabbits are often housed in conditions far below their behavioral needs. Evidence-based housing reforms are improving rabbit welfare globally.
Rabbits are the third most commonly kept pet in the UK and US but among the most poorly understood. Traditional hutch housing is almost universally inadequate for rabbit behavioral needs, failing to provide adequate space, exercise, or social companionship. Because rabbits hide pain and illness instinctively, welfare problems accumulate silently. Dental disease, obesity, and myiasis (fly strike) are common welfare problems directly linked to poor husbandry. Rescue organizations report that most relinquished rabbits have preventable health problems from inadequate care.