Rabbits (1995)

Gunn, D., Morton, D. B.

Abstract

This short paper introduces the general housing and husbandry of laboratory rabbits. The behavior of wild rabbits is compared with that of their laboratory counterparts, and consideration is given to their behavioral needs from the welfare point of view as well as to the effects of husbandry and scientific research. ... It is important to minimize suffering [resulting from species-inadequate caging] not only for welfare reasons, but also because such 'suffering' may result in a range of physiological or psychological changes which could add unintentional variables to the experimental design and affect the accuracy and reliability of the scientific results. This in turn may lead to more animals being used in research than is necessary.