Dental disease is the leading cause of illness and euthanasia in pet rabbits, and is almost entirely preventable through appropriate diet - making owner education a crucial welfare intervention.
Rabbit dental disease welfare is particularly distressing because affected rabbits suffer silently - prey animals instinctively mask pain. By the time owners notice changes in eating or weight loss, disease is often advanced and treatment challenging. General anaesthesia for dental procedures carries significant risk in rabbits. The fundamental preventive measure is simple but requires consistent owner commitment: hay must constitute 85-90% of the diet to provide sufficient tooth wear. Lop breeds face additional challenges due to breed-specific anatomical compression and may benefit from careful screening even with optimal diet. Reducing lop breeding is advocated by welfare scientists concerned about inherited welfare compromise.