Exposed: factory farming’s best kept secret

During a recent investigation, our team visited rabbit farms in France, Spain and Italy – where more than three quarters of all rabbit farming in the EU takes place.

Appalling suffering was documented; rabbits kept in tiny, bare wire cages, unable to move freely or express their natural desires to dig or hide. Rabbit faeces were built up under the cages – piled up to knee-height in places. And there were bins – full of dead rabbits.

Watch the ground breaking footage here. Please be aware it contains scenes of a distressing nature.

Compassion believes that if rabbits are to be farmed then we have a responsibility to ensure that they are kept in humane farming systems. All farm animals should be allowed to live a life free from pain and mental distress, and be able to express their natural behaviours.

Keeping thousands of rabbits in small, barren cages is completely unacceptable and we must stop the suffering. We banned the barren battery cage for hens and now we must do the same for rabbits.

Rabbit meat available in the UK, not labelled from a higher welfare system, is almost certainly inhumanely farmed. Please tell your friends not to buy it and help us spread awareness by sharing our film with your friends.

Help us start the Rabbit Revolution today

Currently, rabbits have no species specific protection under EU welfare laws and have been left out of an important part of the new EU slaughter regulations for 2013. This means these animals are totally vulnerable to the kind of horrific treatment we witnessed during our investigation. If you would like to see an end to this suffering then please help us with a donation today.

via Compassion in World Farming – Rabbits.

EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT

 Warning: some people may find this account distressing

“The lid of a bin was opened and inside was a mass of dead rabbits, no more than a few weeks old.

This was my first experience of an intensive rabbit farm and it came as a shock.

I was on a rabbit farm in a region of Spain well known for farming rabbits. The farm was ramshackle and just about standing up. Unlike some of the more industrial units I’d visit later into this investigation, this place was part open-sided, with plastic sheets used instead of concrete walls. Wire mesh cages were strewn about the place and guard dogs barked continuously in the hope of actually getting fed.

Part-exposed to the sun were rows of battery cages, not dissimilar to those previously used for egg laying hens which are now banned across the EU.

Bundles of white fluff were spilling out from the wire mesh of one barren battery cage but on closer inspection I could see it was 8 baby rabbits. The next cage was the same and the next…in fact; there was cage after cage crammed full of baby rabbits.

Dripping urine and rabbit faeces had built up underneath the cages…..mounds piled up knee-high in several sections and they looked like they’d not been cleaned out for weeks.

To read the rest of this post visit:-Eye Witness Account – Compassion in World Farming