Rabbit meat production occurs at massive global scale, particularly in Europe and China, with welfare conditions that typically fall far short of rabbits' behavioral and social needs.
Farmed rabbit welfare in conventional systems fails at fundamental levels. Rabbits housed alone in wire cages cannot express their natural social behaviors, cannot run or jump (requiring several meters of open space for full expression), and spend their brief lives in conditions that deny their basic nature. Wire flooring causes chronic foot lesions in many individuals. The inability to engage in normal circadian activity patterns on a predictable schedule adds further stress. Colony systems, where rabbits are housed in groups with more space and enrichment, show lower stress indicators, less abnormal behavior, and better physical health - demonstrating that improvement is possible within commercial production.