Gastrointestinal stasis is the leading cause of rabbit deaths among pet owners, yet it is largely preventable through proper diet and housing — making it a critical welfare education issue.
GI stasis causes acute abdominal pain in rabbits, who stoically hide signs of illness until they are critically unwell — a survival instinct that works against them in domestic settings. Many rabbit owners discover their pet is dying only after irreversible damage has occurred. The tragedy is that GI stasis is largely preventable with proper diet and attentive husbandry. The exotic pet trade and uninformed pet stores continue to sell rabbits as low-maintenance pets with pellet-heavy diets, directly contributing to preventable deaths from stasis annually.