Rabbits are among the most widely used laboratory species for safety testing and research, and their specific welfare needs require standards different from other laboratory animals.
Laboratory rabbit welfare has historically received less attention than other species despite their wide use in regulatory safety testing. Rabbits are prey animals with high intrinsic anxiety, and laboratory environments without appropriate hiding opportunities and social contact cause chronic stress that affects both welfare and experimental reproducibility. The refinement of laboratory rabbit housing - toward paired or group housing, enriched environments, and species-appropriate management - is both ethically required and scientifically beneficial, improving welfare while potentially improving data quality.