Review on environmental enrichments for farmed rabbits
Published in 2025
Summary of the different types of environmental enrichment used for domestic rabbits.
Document Types: Scientific review
Animal categories:Monogastric
Species : Rabbits
Measuring on-farm welfare in rabbits: a review with emphasis on animal-based indicators
Published in 2024
Study proposing a roadmap for the assessment of rabbit welfare by integrating multi-dimensional indicators, particularly those for positive and negative affective states.
Document Types: Scientific review
Animal categories:Monogastric
Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Animal-based measurements, Welfare indicators, Housing, Living environment, Behavioural disorders
Thoughtful or distant farmer: Exploring the influence of human-animal relationships on rabbit stress, behavior, and emotional responses in two distinct living environments
Published in 2024
Study showing that rabbits living in simple environments or benefiting from positive human interaction displayed more exploratory and interested behaviors towards humans. The quality of the human-animal relationship and the environment influenced their welfare, with no significant difference in physiological stress.
Document Types: Scientific paper
Animal categories:Monogastric
Keywords:Animal-based measurements, Enrichment, Housing, Living environment, Human-animal relationships, Socialization, Stress
Environmental Enrichment in Rabbit Husbandry: Comparative Impacts on Performance and Welfare
Published in 2024
Summary article describing environmental stress and its negative impacts on rabbit welfare and productivity, causing disease and problem behavior. Environmental enrichment helps reduce this stress by meeting the natural behavioral needs of rabbits, thereby improving their welfare and performance.
Document Types: Scientific review
Animal categories:Monogastric
Keywords:Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Aggression, Aggressiveness, Animal-based measurements, Enrichment, Welfare indicators, Housing, Stress, Behavioural disorders
One Health Approach to Rabbit Farming: Balancing Act between Environmental Impact, Farmers Livelihood, and Animal Welfare
Published in 2024
Book chapter describing rabbit farming as a sustainable solution to meeting demand for meat while having a low environmental impact, thanks to the feed conversion efficiency and low land and resource requirements of rabbits. However, challenges include the need to ensure adequate space to avoid stress and health problems and to guarantee animal welfare.
Document Types: Scientific work
Animal categories:Monogastric
Keywords: Environment, Housing, One Welfare, Pollution,Societal issues, livestock farming system
Actualités Règlementation – Application de la règlementation bien-être animal lors de l’abattage, prenant en compte les spécificités des petits abattoirs de volailles et lagomorphes
Published in 2024
Conclusions du travail du réseau mixte technologique Alimentation locale concernant la justification de l’application du règlement européen sur la protection des animaux au moment de leur mise à mort dans les petits abattoirs volailles et lagomorphes. Plus spécifiquement, la formation exigée d’un Responsable de la Protection Animale en petits abattoirs (< 150 000 oiseaux) semble disproportionnée. Une instruction technique de la DGAL pour mieux cadrer cela devrait être publiée courant 2024.
Document types: Technical Paper
Animal categories: Poultry
Keywords:Animal trade, Euthanasia, Processing, Transport
Behaviour and welfare assessment of autochthonous slow-growing rabbits: The role of housing systems
Published in 2024
Scientific article evaluating the effect of three housing systems (traditional single cages, group farming and a mixed system) on the welfare of slow-growing rabbits. Group-housed rabbits exhibited a wider range of behaviors, but were also associated with higher levels of salivary and hair corticosterone indicating stress. Younger rabbits were more active while mature rabbits displayed more agonistic behaviors.
Document Types: Scientific paper
Keywords:Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Aggression, Aggressiveness, Animal-based measurements, Livestock buildings, Welfare indicators, Housing, Stress, Livestock farming system, Behavioural disorders
Assemblée nationale : réponse écrite à la question n°10089 : Garantir une transition pour un élevage sans cage
Published in 2024
Response from the French Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty to an MP's question on the EU's commitment to ban cage farming.
Document types: Regulation/Certification
Animal categories:Cattle, Pigs, Poultry
Keywords:Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Livestock buildings, Housing, Restraint equipment
Run access, hutch size and time-of-day affect welfare-relevant behaviour and faecal corticosterone in pair-housed pet rabbits
Published in 2023
Scientific article studying the effects of average hutch size and access to an exercise area on the welfare of pet rabbits kept in pairs. It concludes that pet rabbits should be given the freedom to exercise throughout the day, and that hutches of 0.75 m2 are insufficient in size to ensure the welfare of a pair of pet rabbits.
Document Types: Scientific paper
Animal categories:Exotic pets
Keywords:Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Enrichment, Housing, Living environment, Human-animal relationships
The grim reality of industrial animal farming
Published in 2023
Report summarizing the main welfare problems faced by broilers, fish, pigs, dairy cows and rabbits in intensive farming and the main shortcomings of current European legislation in this respect.
Document Types: Scientific review
Animal categories:Cattle, Goats, Sheep, Fish, Pigs, Poultry
Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Pain, Societal issues, Mutilation, Human-animal relationships, Stress, Livestock farming system
