Approximately 1 billion rabbits are farmed annually for meat and fur, the vast majority in bare wire battery cages that cause severe behavioral deprivation and physical suffering.
Rabbits are active, exploratory animals with strong drives to run, jump, dig, and hide. In bare wire battery cages, none of these behaviors are possible. The wire flooring causes painful pressure sores on the thin-skinned hocks. Rabbits cannot engage in natural postural repertoires - including the full stretch runs and binkies (joy jumps) that characterize rabbit happiness. The result is widespread stereotypic behavior and evidence of chronic psychological suffering. The approximately 1 billion rabbits farmed annually represent a welfare crisis of enormous scale that receives comparatively little attention relative to chicken or pig farming despite similar or worse conditions.