Summary of Rabbit Meat farms in Australia

Up until 1987, there was a complete ban on rabbit farming in Australia. In 1987, Western Australia changed its legislation to lift that ban. New South Wales and Victoria followed suit. Before the bans were lifted, 2.7 million rabbits a year were estimated to have been hunted in Australia in the wild up until the early 1990s.

In 1996, The Australian government released the Rabbit Calicivirus Disease (RCD) as a biological control agent, to kill wild rabbits. This wiped out a large part of the wild rabbit population. As a result, the estimated number of hunted wild rabbits dropped considerably (to around 100,000 per year). This coincided with a resurgence in interest in rabbit farming in Australia.

There is one model code of practice for intensive rabbit farming, however this is not part of legislation in many states. Rabbits raised for food are classified as "stock" animals, therefore many fundamental welfare laws such as exercise does not apply to them.

In NSW, the relevant laws governing slaughter of rabbits come from the Food Regulation 2015 (NSW). Those two standards have no definition of stunning or humane practices/ welfare.

• 4466-1998: Hygienic production of rabbit meat for human consumption
• 4696-2007: Hygienic production and transportation of meat and meat products for human consumption

Farmed rabbits

In 2021, Animal Liberation exposed the shocking treatment of rabbits on a commercial farm in Victoria.

Over the past 20 years, despite a steady demand, there has been a significant decrease in the number of rabbit farms in Australia from 561 in 2002, to an estimated less than 10 today. The decline is largely due to disease and welfare issues.

The Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation's (RIRDC) five-year RD&E report of new, developing and maturing animal industries for the years 2013-2018, found that the industry has negative growth prospects due to disease and welfare issues. The report confirms the industry turnover is down to $3.1 million, roughly equating to 0.005% of the gross value of Australian farm production, estimated to be $60 billion in 2016-17.

Current Australian welfare standards have not been changed for years and are vague, with no clear definitions.

Rabbits must legally be kept in cages, to prevent them from escaping. The cages have wire flooring, no enrichment, and are often overcrowded. According to the standards, rabbits are awarded 0.07m2 of space - roughly the size of an A4 paper. When in these cages, rabbits are unable to exhibit their natural behaviours, such as digging, exploring, foraging, or jumping. As rabbits are prey animals, the lack of cover on their cages also causes them significant stress.

Despite being social animals, bucks and does are kept in solitary confinement. For the bucks, their only chance to socialise is when a doe is put inside their cage for breeding. She is removed shortly after.

According to the Code of Practice for Intensive Husbandry of Rabbits, "avoidance of ammonia build-up is essential" and "should ammonia levels reach the point of being detectable by human sense of smell remedial action needs to be taken to reduce the level", and should not exceed 10ppm. Research has shown that people can detect ammonia at 5ppm. Within the sheds, the investigators took multiple ammonia readings ranging from 15 to 33 ppm - greatly exceeding the 10ppm. Ammonia causes severe damage to the eyes, skin, and mucous membranes of the oral and respiratory tract.

To increase economic profits, rabbits on farms are fed a formulated, low-cost diet, which impacts their health.

While reviewing the footage, Animal Liberation staff noted that multiple rabbits were suffering from:

• paw injuries

• footpad wounds

• broken legs

• splayed legs

• weeping and infected eyes

• respiratory illnesses (nasal discharge/coughing/sneezing)

• ear infections/mites

• injuries from cannibalism and infections (missing ears, nose, toes)

• tumours

• mastitis

• infected wounds

• severe head tilt (neurological disorders from captivity and illness)

• overgrown teeth

• premature death

Slaughter

2024 investigations by Farm Transparency Project exposed commercial rabbit slaughter for the first time in Australia.

The following methods are used to stun rabbits:

(1) Cervical dislocation: which involves separation of the skull and the brain from the spinal cord by a pressure blow to the skull. Research shows that there is approximately 13 seconds of consciousness after the dislocation.

(2) Suspension by the hind legs: followed by a heavy, sharp blow to the back of the skull with a metal pipe. If no implement is available, it is recommended that the rabbit is picked up by the hind legs and swung so that the back of his head hits a hard surface such as a rock or post.

(3) Decapitation using a guillotine or sharp blade.

(4) 'Bleeding out' by cutting the major blood vessels in the neck while suspended upside down by their paws.

Learn more at 

https://www.farmtransparency.org/campaigns/rabbit-farming-slaughter