Factfile

Any system for rearing farmed rabbits must meet their key behavioural and physical needs if they are to have a good quality of life. Farmed rabbits need the opportunity to carry out their key natural behaviours in the same way as all rabbits do - whether they are kept as pets, laboratory rabbits, or living in the wild. Most of the facts about rabbit behaviour in our pet rabbits area therefore also apply to farmed rabbits.

The breeds of rabbit that are commonly farmed include the New Zealand White, Californian and Carolina. These are quite large breeds - for example, adult New Zealand White males (bucks) can reach 5 kilogrammes in weight. These active, athletic creatures can move a distance of 2 metres in two or three hops, and can jump around 1 metre in height, something that is very important to bear in mind in relation to the space available to them in typical farming systems.