Hertfordshire charity calls for urgent reform as UK faces rabbit welfare crisis
Up to 100,000 rabbits are ending up in UK rescue centres each year
Last updated 19th Apr 2025
As Easter brings rabbits into seasonal spotlight, animal welfare advocates in Hertfordshire are warning of a deepening crisis in rabbit rescue, with calls for urgent reform to breeding legislation.
According to the Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund (RWAF), the UK is currently experiencing “the worst rabbit rescue crisis ever,” with up to 100,000 rabbits now ending up in rescue centres each year.
Lea Facey, who runs Rabbit Residence Rescue on the Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire border, says her centre can care for up to 100 rabbits at a time and rehomes around 150 a year, but demand consistently exceeds capacity.
She said: "At certain times of year, so school holidays, coming up to Easter, just after Christmas, just after Easter, our waiting list often exceeds 100.
"That's 100 rabbits that are looking for rescue placement with us."
The RWAF is now urging the government to amend existing dog breeding legislation to include rabbits, while rabbit rescue centres up and down the country are urging residents to write to their MPs, urging them to support changes in the licensing for rabbit breeders.
Current legislation under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 is seen as inadequate for rabbits.
RWAF data shows only 19 licences have been revoked in six years, despite 222 large-scale businesses involving rabbits being registered under pet-related licences.
The RWAF also analysed listings on Pets4Homes, a major online pet marketplace. Of 6,143 advertisers selling rabbits, 435 had five or more litters, meeting the threshold to require a business licence. However, only six licensed rabbit breeders were listed on the site.
"This is absolutely what we've been seeing with rabbits," Ms Facey said, addressing a rise in large-scale breeding and poor conditions. "We quite often these days are taking in cases that are proper welfare cases where people have very quickly got out of their depth and ended up with multiple rabbits."
She also highlighted the impact on animal welfare as her centre sees a rise both in the number of dumped rabbits and rabbits that have been dumped with additional health issues.
When rabbits are not provided with the correct environment, behavioural issues such as fear aggression or stress-related behaviours like bar biting and pacing can develop, a behaviour which Ms Facey assures can easily be rectified if and when the animal is placed in good living conditions and given a better life.
Ms Facey said: "Rabbits are always forgotten about. You know they can’t bark or meow. They can be shoved in a tiny hut or a cage and literally left to die."
This Easter, both Rabbit Residence Rescue and the RWAF are urging the public to research rabbit welfare thoroughly before acquiring one.
What does the Government say?
A Defra spokesperson said: "This government is commitment to upholding the highest animal welfare standards.
"Anyone who runs a business selling rabbits as pets must legally obtain a valid licence and meet strict welfare standards, enforced by local authorities who have powers to issue, refuse, or revoke licences."