Housing of rabbit does: Group and individual systems: A review

The aim of this review is to compare group and individual housing systems for rabbit does, focusing on production and some welfare aspects. Some information about the benefits and costs of group-living European wild rabbits is also provided. Group-housing of does, independently of the larger area for moving and social contact, contravenes the welfare recommendations often resulting in chronic stress, aggressiveness and injuries, higher risk of diseases and mortality, etc., reproductive performance is lower, and the costs of production are higher. These housing systems do not fully meet the needs of the animals and they negatively impact the rabbits' well-being. For European wild rabbits, living in groups has several negative aspects which are similar to group-housing of domestic rabbit does. The most important benefit is decreasing predation risk which is not a real problem in rabbit farms. In individual cages, the rabbits have less space to move and less opportunity for social interactions. Some alternative housing systems (plastic mesh floor, elevated platform, larger cages, foot mats for the does, etc.) increase the production costs, but also improve the welfare of animals (larger area for activity and incidence of behavioural stereotypes). These alternatives increase the cost of production and may have a negative effect on the demand for rabbit meat. Concerning all aspects of housing systems, it can be concluded that individual housing of does in enlarged and enriched cages currently best meets the demands of rabbits, farmers and consumers.