Environmental impact of rabbit meat: The effect of production efficiency

Climate change determined in the standard rabbit resulted in 3.86 kg CO2 eq/kg live weight, slightly higher than that of broilers and not different from that of pork. High and Low mortality scenarios resulted in impact changes from +5.22 and −2.31%, respectively, compared with the standard system. An increase of environmental impact values (up to 36%) was registered when live weight enhanced from 2.7 to 2.9 kg for standard and heavy rabbits. The results obtained underline the strict link between the ability to convert feed into meat and the environmental sustainability of meat production also in the rabbit system.