Rabbits are highly social animals whose welfare depends critically on companionship, with single-rabbit housing now recognized as a welfare compromise in most modern animal welfare frameworks.
Rabbit welfare has been significantly revised in light of research establishing the species' social complexity and the welfare consequences of isolation. Single rabbit housing was standard advice for decades and remains common in practice, but is now recognized as causing chronic social deprivation in a species that evolved in group living conditions. Rabbits housed alone show higher rates of stereotypic behavior, reduced activity, and physiological stress indicators. The practical challenge of bonding - which requires patient neutering, introduction protocols, and willingness to manage occasional incompatibilities - is frequently cited as justification for single housing, but is manageable with appropriate guidance and commitment.