Document type: article published on the INRAE website
Authors: Fetiveau M, Savietto D, Janczak AM, Fortun-Lamothe L, Fillon V.
Preview: The vast majority of rabbits are raised in enclosures, in conditions that severely restrict their movements and the expression of the species' behaviors, such as hopping, browsing, sitting up on their hind legs, gnawing, etc. In order to respect their needs, and meet the public's animal welfare expectations, it is essential to design new alternative breeding and rearing systems. To do so, we must come closer to the animals' point of view, using indicators to understand and interpret their emotions. This will allow us to design and test out different living conditions and evaluate rabbits' emotional responses to them.
Scientists from the GenPhySE laboratory have developed a qualitative behavior assessment method (QBA) that has been adapted to rabbits. The animals' emotional states are determined by direct observation. Based on three years of observations, researchers have established a grid of qualitative emotional descriptors to cover the wide spectrum of intensities and emotions, both positive and negative, that rabbits can experience.
This adaptation for rabbits of the method developed by Françoise Wemelsfelder and her colleagues in the early 2000s, is a first. It has now been applied to other domestic species, such as pigs and cattle, and is part of the Welfare Quality® assessment procedure.
Encouraging positive interactions
Rabbits' behavioral responses are influenced by both their living environment and the quality of their relationships with humans. A scientific study has investigated the influence of the human-animal relationship on the behavior and emotions of young rabbits raised outdoors on pasture or in agroforestry. Rabbits who had been familiarized with humans by considerate breeders and had received treats and stroking had a more positive perception of interactions and spent more time close to humans. They were characterized as "affectionate and interested", whereas rabbits that had experienced only distant contact with the breeder were more "indifferent".
Enriching the living environment and encouraging positive interactions, such as a regular, considerate human presence, could improve rabbits' welfare and make it easier for farmers to provide daily care.
Link to scientific article published in 2024 in Animal Welfare
From the INRAE website
