In danger of sounding extremely annoying, sorry about that, I just can't help but feel a bit offended by the way it seems breeders are seen by some people here.:?
The breeders I know (and trust me they're not few) keep their rabbits in decent sized cages and give them exercise either in large runs or in harnesses. If a baby rabbit comes out with a genetic defect, the whole family is taken out of breeding (mother, father, siblings and sometimes even further out, depending on the breeder and how much the lines are "tested" for defects) Breeding pairs are chosen carefully.
Some people may think baby bunnies are so cute, they decide to take a litter on their bunnies. They have some fun with the kits, before they sell/give them away to the first people who comes by or to a pet store. The babies end up in bad homes or eventually the Rescue shelter.
A good breeder however (in my opinion), would be more picky on who gets the rabbits, perhaps not as picky as a rescue maybe, but they make sure to give the new owners correct information on how to care for the rabbits. When I got Aroma she came with a contract, which said that if I for some reason couldn't keep her anymore, the breeder had 1. right in taking her back.
Certainly, some breeders may put some rabbits to sleep, and many end up at the dinner table, but may I remind you that rabbits (just like pigs and most other farm animals) were originally breed for their meat. The breeders I know who do this would feel better at eating their own animals than others, as they know that they have had a good life
In difference from buying their meat from a farmer who may treat his animals as nothing more than "objects".
Are you telling me these are bad people?