A perspective about the changes of the housing systems for rabbits in conventional farms

Public opinion and European Parliament are asking for cage-free production systems in all farmed species to improve animal welfare. Specifically, in rabbits, housing systems are moving from conventional cages to collective pens (usually equipped with structural enrichments such as platforms), also called parks. These housing systems have been developed during the last 8-10 years, but they are not yet widespread, nor fully validated under commercial conditions because technical standards are still missing. In fact, collective pens can provide rabbits with more opportunities to satisfy their ethological needs, in particular social contacts, and increased total available space for movement. On the other hand, collective housing of growing rabbits is associated with higher aggression, which requires a more careful management compared to conventional systems and special attention to several ontogenetic and production factors, e.g. slaughter age and weight, genetics, environmental and structural enrichment, group composition. In the case of reproducing does, continuous collective systems have been proven to greatly reduce performance and welfare of animals because of the high aggression level and unacceptable occurrence of injuries to does and litters. Part-time systems are at a developmental stage and cannot be recommended under commercial conditions yet.