This is on the CIWF page aswell and they are appealling for signatures on the petition that it links to aswell.
This is the article which provides some more background
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-s...r-as-battery-rabbit-farms-return-2276847.html
April 2011
Compassion in World Farming Factsheets
Intensive rearing of rabbits
Most commercially farmed rabbits are kept in barren wire cages in closed buildings where their natural behaviour is severely restricted. The majority of rabbit meat produced in the EU is from large intensive farms which may house 500 to 1000 breeding females (does)and 10 000 to 20 000 rabbits in total. Welfare Issues
There are very serious welfare issues affecting rabbits in intensive farming systems. Currently there is no species-specific legislation protecting the welfare of farmed rabbits in the EU and Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007 contain only very basic species-specific requirements for rabbits.
Inadequate space and height
Rabbits usually move by hopping, with each hop covering around 70 cm of ground, but during grazing they move more slowly. They can run at speeds of up to 30 km/hour, jump higher than a metre and make sudden changes of direction by zig-zagging. Rabbits have highly sensitive senses of smell and hearing. They are very alert animals and regularly interrupt activities to check for danger by sitting or rearing up on their hind legs with ears
erect. For the young rabbits who are reared for meat (growers) the space available per animal in grower cages in the EU is typically 450 to 600 cm2; this is less than the area of an ordinary A4 sheet of typing paper. A typical cage for an adult doe in the EU is 60 to 65 cm long, 40 to 48 cm wide and 30 to 35 cm high. The floor space and height are so restricted that caged rabbits are often unable to move normally and adopt normal postures such as
lying stretched out, sitting and standing with their ears erect, rearing up, turning around comfortably and hopping. The lack of opportunity for exercise in caged rabbits can lead to weakened bones.
As set out in the UK welfare code: The recommended floor space for a cage-housed breeding doe (alone or with a litter up to five weeks of age) is 5600cm2. This is much smaller than the area necessary to allow a rabbit to move around normally by hopping, let alone achieve any meaningful exercise. When the doe has a young litter, at least 800cm2 of this area will be taken up with a nest box, leaving only around 4800cm2 of floor area outside of the nest box, which is insufficient even for the doe to lie in a species-typical
resting posture. The lack of opportunity for exercise in caged rabbits can lead to weakened bones. For the young rabbits who are reared for meat, the recommended floor space per animal in cages, as set out in the UK welfare code, is 700cm2 up to 12 weeks of age and 1800cm2 from 12 weeks of age; this is equivalent to around 14 and six animals per square metre respectively. The total area available to growing rabbits will depend on the group size. Opportunities to express natural behaviour are particularly severely restricted where growing rabbits are housed in small groups. The functional space available to growing rabbits housed in small groups in cages is insufficient to allow many normal activities, such as sequences of hops, running and play behaviour.
The minimum cage height recommended in the UK welfare code is 45cm for all rabbits over 12 weeks of age. This is insufficient to allow rabbits to adopt some normal postures, such as sitting up on the hind legs in a species-typical “lookout” posture, or to make some normal movements, such as jumping.
Barren environment
In a natural environment, rabbits dig a large and complex system of burrows which they use for resting, hiding and rearing their young. They will usually feed at dusk and dawn and at various points during the night.
Commercially farmed rabbits are generally fed on pellets and, except for a feeder and drinker, no other structural objects are usually provided in the cage. The barren environment and lack of forage feed (e.g. hay) can lead to rabbits developing abnormal stereotypical behaviours such as excessive grooming and repetitive gnawing or nibbling at the cage. Females that are being reared for breeding or are not nursing are often particularly badly affected as they are typically fed on a restricted diet.
Lack of social interaction- Rabbits are social animals, living in stable groups typically of between two and nine adult females, one to three adult males and their offspring. Serious aggression is rare once a stable hierarchy has been established and strong relationships develop between individuals, who will choose to remain close to each other and rest together, often in body contact. Mutual grooming is an important behaviour to reinforce social bonds.
Growers are often housed in pairs or groups, but breeding does and bucks are usually kept in individual cages, denying them the opportunity for social interaction. Individually caged rabbits show more abnormal stereotypical behaviour than rabbits housed in groups. Research has demonstrated that breeding rabbits can be housed successfully in groups if they are given sufficient space and adequate nesting facilities to avoid problems with aggression.
Injuries and poor physical condition
Cages are mainly constructed of wire and sometimes the sides are solid metal sheets. Some farms use floor mats to cover part of the cage floor but usually the floor is made entirely of bare wire. Breeding females and males kept for long periods on wire mesh floors commonly develop sores on their footpads and hocks; these sores cause chronic poor welfare and can be so severe that they are a common reason for culling. A survey of French rabbit farms found that on average 12% of female rabbits had paw injuries that
were sufficiently serious for them to show obvious signs of discomfort; on some farms this level was as high as 40%. It has been shown in one study that by application of of a plastic platform or slatted footrest ulcerative lesions on the hock can be prevented and can help cure those affected. The study did not find this was of any detriment to hygiene.
Breeding does must cope with an intensive reproductive cycle, which can lead to a loss of body condition and metabolic disease. Hormone treatment is often used to synchronise the time of breeding and, on most commercial farms, does are artificially inseminated within 11 days after giving birth. Breeding males have been selectively bred for increased growth rate, which can lead to chronic lameness.
Disease and mortality
Respiratory and enteric diseases can cause acute pain, whilst chronic conditions such as ulcerated feet and hocks, mastitis, mange, ringworm and abscesses can cause prolonged suffering in farmed rabbits.
Mortality of commercially farmed rabbits is very high, with typically 100% of breeding does dying or being culled and replaced each year and losses of 15 to 30% of growers from birth to slaughter. The main causes of mortality are enteric and respiratory diseases and the main reason for culling is reproductive failure due to infertility or mastitis.
Slaughter
Within the EU, most commercially slaughtered rabbits are electrically stunned before slaughter. There has been little research to determine the current and frequency necessary to achieve an effective stun in rabbits. There is therefore a high risk that rabbits may not be stunned properly. Rabbits are held individually for electrical stunning, which is not only stressful but may cause pain and/or injury, especially in larger rabbits, if their weight is not properly supported.
Within the EU, large numbers of smaller abattoirs have mostly been replaced with a small number of specialised rabbit slaughterhouses. The development of high speed and more automated slaughter lines is likely to lead to a greater risk of poor welfare during stunning and slaughter.
Con'td