Wild rabbits face welfare threats from viral hemorrhagic disease, myxomatosis, habitat loss, and lethal population control methods that cause significant individual suffering.
Wild rabbit welfare involves different considerations in different geographic contexts. In Europe, declining rabbit populations face disease-related suffering at a scale that represents a significant welfare burden, with myxomatosis causing prolonged distressing deaths in millions of individuals annually. In Australia, rabbits are ecological pests causing agricultural damage and threatening endemic species, creating justification for population control — but welfare principles still require that control methods minimize individual animal suffering. Viral biocontrol agents vary substantially in their welfare profiles: myxomatosis is a welfare-poor method while RHDV2 causes faster death. The welfare lens adds important dimensions to both conservation and pest management planning.