January 2024

Welcome to the first blog of 2024! This month we’re going to explore some research looking at rabbit welfare and I’ll introduce some exciting new research projects we’re hoping to undertake in this area at Woodgreen.

Rabbits as pets

According to annual data from UK Pet Food, in 2023 there were an estimated 1.5 million pet rabbits in the UK, owned by 2.8% of households (UK Pet Food, 2023). Based on this most recent estimate, the population of rabbits, and other smaller pets, has increased considerably in recent times. The PDSA report that there are many reasons why owners decided to get their rabbits, including because they make them happy; for love and affection; and because their children wanted a pet (PDSA, 2023).

Unfortunately, pet rabbits in the UK can experience a variety of different welfare concerns, many of which are linked to owner decisions and behaviours. In 2018, a group of experts identified and prioritised a number of welfare issues for pet rabbits. These concerns included topics that many of us working with rabbits and their owners will already be aware of, such as inappropriate housing, lack of appropriate socialisation and handling, inappropriate diet, and a lack of preventative care such as vaccinations (Rioja-Lang et al., 2019). It was suggested that an important factor which contributed to many of these concerns was lack of owner knowledge of appropriate rabbit husbandry practices and behaviour. It is key to understand more about owner knowledge, motivations and behaviours in order to make improvements to the welfare of rabbits, and pets more generally. This month’s blog explores a couple of recent research papers that consider the association between owner related factors and rabbit husbandry.

Factors which have an impact on husbandry conditions

Earlier this month, a group of researchers from the Czech Republic published a research paper investigating the association between the bond an owner has with their rabbit and the care that rabbit receives (Přibylová et al., 2023). Beyond just exploring the human-animal bond, they also considered a number of other factors which could impact rabbit husbandry. An online survey, advertised at various locations frequented by rabbit owners and rabbit-related Facebook groups, was used to collect data from 1831 participants. To assess the human animal bond, the study used a validated measure called the Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale (LAPS) (Johnson et al., 1992).

Participants who lived in a house with young children (under 12 years old) were found to have a significantly weaker bond with their rabbit than those with no children. Perhaps these findings suggest that rabbits in a household without young children may have a different status than those who live in a household with young children. A similar result was found when comparing those who owned a cat and a dog, with those with just a rabbit, or a rabbit and other pet species. For those with a rabbit and a cat, or a rabbit and a dog, there was no difference in their level of attachment to each pet. Another factor associated with the strength of the owner-rabbit bond was the amount of time the respondent spent with their rabbit, with those who spent more time with their rabbits having a stronger bond with them.

The researchers developed a husbandry condition index (HCI) to assess the welfare of the rabbits in the study. This included factors such as companionship and housing. The presence of children in the household did not have a significant correlation with the score on the HCI, suggesting that although the bond with the owner may be higher in households without young children, the husbandry received is similar. Ownership of other pets such as cats and dogs also had no impact on the husbandry conditions. The amount of time spent with the rabbit was associated with the husbandry conditions. Where the participant spent more time with their rabbit, the HCI score was higher, indicating better welfare. There was only a weak positive correlation between attachment score and husbandry conditions, suggesting that the strength of the owner-rabbit bond only has a minimal influence on husbandry.

Owner demographics and rabbit husbandry

There is evidence to support that owner demographic factors are associated with the level of housing pet rabbits are provided with in the UK (Mee et al., 2022). Using data from the 2017, 2018, and 2019 PDSA Animal Wellbeing (PAW) reports, the housing provided for rabbits by 1333 owners was explored. Almost a third of rabbits (31.2%) in this dataset were living in accommodation considered inappropriate by the PDSA.

Owner gender was found to be associated with housing provision, with male owners 1.795 times more likely to report inadequate housing than females. Age category also had an influence on the housing provided, with younger owners (25-34 years) more likely to report inadequate rabbit housing than owners over 55 years old. This is perhaps surprising given that we often anecdotally hear concerns that experienced owners are not staying up to date with appropriate care practices, and that younger people show more concern for animal welfare (Bernuz Beneitez & María, 2022).

Rabbit owners with a below average household income were more likely to report their rabbit living in inadequate housing than those with above average household income. Given the cost of providing rabbit accommodation which meets the minimum recommended size in the Good Practice Code for the Welfare of Rabbits it would make sense that those with lower incomes can struggle to afford this. People often don’t know that there are cheaper options to create this themselves or that there are more affordable and flexible ways to ensure that rabbits have the space they need. At Woodgreen, we are promoting ways that owners can think outside of the box to provide improved welfare for their small pets.

What can we do to improve rabbit welfare?

Beyond the already excellent work that Woodgreen undertakes in education and supporting people with their pets, we are undertaking some research of our own to understand more about rabbit acquisition and welfare.

In collaboration with the PDSA, Hartpury University, and Queens University Belfast, we are exploring the wealth of data available from the PAW reports to further understand the associations between rabbit acquisition factors and care practices. This will investigate topics such as reasons for getting a rabbit; where the rabbit came from; and a variety of care factors including housing provision, diet, and preventative care practices. We hope that our research findings will give us an important insight into any links between how owners acquire their rabbits and how they care for them, enabling us to target our educational messaging appropriately.

Alongside this, we are in the initial stages of designing a project to explore public perception of the minimum recommended enclosure size for rabbits. Whilst the good practice code for rabbits has been in circulation for a few years now, knowledge of the appropriate environment for a pet rabbit still appears to be lacking. By understanding more about how the general public perceives the minimum recommended accommodation size, we can develop our messaging to promote responsible rabbit ownership. We can also share this learning with our partners and others in the sector to hopefully influence wider societal change.

References

Bernuz Beneitez, M. J., & María, G. A. (2022). Public Opinion About Punishment for Animal Abuse in Spain: Animal Attributes as Predictors of Attitudes Toward Penalties. Anthrozoos, 35(4), 559–576. https://doi.org/10.1080/08927936.2021.2012341

Johnson, T. P., Garrity, T. F., & Stallones, L. (1992). Psychometric Evaluation of the Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale (Laps). Anthrozoös, 5(3). https://doi.org/10.2752/089279392787011395

Mee, G., Tipton, E., Oxley, J. A., & Westgarth, C. (2022). Owner demographic factors are associated with suitable pet rabbit housing provision in the United Kingdom. Veterinary Record, 190(12), e1736. https://doi.org/10.1002/vetr.1736

PDSA. (2023). PDSA Animal Wellbeing Report 2023. https://www.pdsa.org.uk/what-we-do/pdsa-animal-wellbeing-report/paw-report-2023

Přibylová, L., Součková, M., Kolářová, M. F., Vostrá-Vydrová, H., & Chaloupková, H. (2023). Does a stronger bond with pet rabbits equate to better husbandry conditions for them? Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 106143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2023.106143

Rioja-Lang, F., Bacon, H., Connor, M., & Dwyer, C. M. (2019). Rabbit welfare: Determining priority welfare issues for pet rabbits using a modified Delphi method. Veterinary Record Open, 6(1), e000363. https://doi.org/10.1136/vetreco-2019-000363

UK Pet Food. (2023). UK Pet Population. UK Pet Food. https://www.ukpetfood.org/information-centre/statistics/uk-pet-population.html