Dental disease is the single most common welfare problem in pet rabbits, largely driven by inappropriate diet and genetics. Prevention requires understanding rabbit dentition.
Rabbit dental disease causes chronic and often severe pain that owners frequently fail to recognize because rabbits hide illness instinctively. A rabbit eating less, sitting hunched, or losing weight is often suffering from significant tooth pain. Unlike predator species, rabbits cannot cry out or visibly display pain without predator risk - their stoic presentation masks genuine suffering. The welfare implications extend beyond pain - malnutrition from inability to eat properly causes secondary suffering. The breeding of lop-eared rabbits with structurally compromised skulls represents a created welfare problem that veterinary professionals increasingly advocate against perpetuating.