Rabbit housing requirements are frequently misunderstood, with many rabbits kept in conditions that prevent normal movement and behavior. Understanding minimum standards and best practice protects rabbit welfare.
Rabbit housing welfare is one of the largest gaps between common practice and welfare requirements in companion animal keeping. The hutch that is sold as a starter home for rabbits - often 90 x 60 cm - is so small that a rabbit cannot take a single hop, stand upright, or engage in any normal movement. Rabbits kept in this type of housing live in conditions equivalent to permanent confinement in a space smaller than their body length. This causes musculoskeletal problems from lack of exercise, behavioral frustration, and chronic stress from confinement. The welfare standards for rabbit housing require spaces large enough for genuine locomotion - running, binkying (happy leaps), and standing fully upright - that most commercial rabbit housing cannot provide.