Farmed rabbits are one of the least regulated and most welfare-compromised livestock species globally, kept in conditions causing chronic behavioral restriction.
Farmed rabbit welfare is among the most severe and least recognized welfare problems in livestock agriculture. Rabbits kept in individual wire cages cannot perform any of their motivated natural behaviors - they cannot run, jump, dig, or engage in the social behaviors essential for their psychological wellbeing. The suffering of farmed rabbits is invisible to most consumers because rabbit meat is less prominent in mainstream diets than beef or pork. Park housing systems providing group housing and movement space represent a significant welfare improvement and are being adopted in some European markets under consumer and regulatory pressure.