Rabbits are among the most popular pets in Australia yet thousands of these same species are kept in appalling conditions every day as animals raised for meat.

The current welfare laws that apply to pet rabbits do not apply to those farmed for meat.  Identifying certain rabbits as ‘consumable animals’ is a legal loophole that allows for the raising and killing of rabbits in ways which would otherwise be prohibited if that same animal was a pet.  

An explosive investigation by Animal Liberation has exposed the horrific cruelty inflicted on meat rabbits in their 13 weeks of life. Some rabbits can be seen unable to move due to the extreme confinement of their cages.  Others develop severe injury or disease, including zoonotic parasites and head tilt - an irreversible neurological condition, triggered by their stressful environments.

Due to extensive welfare concerns, rabbit farms are in steady decline. From an approximate 560 farms, there now exists around 10 nationwide.  It's time for Victoria to lead the way by banning rabbit meat farming altogether.