Veterinary care of rabbits: Health and welfare of pet rabbits in the 21st Century
spotlight topic:
1. Health and welfare of pet rabbits in the 21st Century
Published 14 November 2022 | Updated 12 September 2024
- Conformation-associated health in pet rabbits in the UK: A VetCompass cohort study. Veterinary Record, e4396. https://doi.org/10.1002/vetr.4396
- Oliver-Guimera, A. et al. (2024) Diseases of domestic rabbits by purpose; a retrospective study of 2,583 cases received at 4 diagnostic laboratories in California, USA, 2013–2022. Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation. https://doi.org/10.1177/10406387241262021
- Espinosa García-San Román, J. et al. (2024) Clinicopathologic findings and causes of mortality in 100 pet rabbits from the Canary Islands, Spain, 2011–2022. Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation. https://doi.org/10.1177/10406387241264801
- Suba-Bokodi, É., Nagy, I. and Molnár, M. (2024) The impact of transportation on the cortisol level of dwarf rabbits bred to animal-assisted interventions. Animals, 14 (5), no. 664. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14050664
- Tynes, V. V. (2023) The interaction between behavioral and physical health in rabbits. Veterinary Clinics of North America: Small Animal Practice, 54 (1), pp. 169-179. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cvsm.2023.08.001
- Summa, N.M. and Brandão, J. (2017) Evidence-based advances in rabbit medicine. Veterinary Clinics: Exotic Animal Practice, 20 (3), pp. 749-771. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cvex.2017.04.00
- Adji, A.V., Pedersen, A.Ø. and Agyekum, A.K. (2022) Obesity in pet rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus): A narrative review. Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine, 41, pp. 30-37. https://doi.org/10.1053/j.jepm.2022.02.003
- Fisher, P.G. (2010) Standards of care in the 21st century: the rabbit. Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine, 19 (1), pp. 22-35. https://doi.org/10.1053/j.jepm.2010.01.004
- Ozawa, S. and Gleeson, M. (2023) Rabbit pediatrics. Veterinary Clinics of North America: Exotic Animal Practice. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cvex.2023.11.003
- Rioja‐Lang, F. et al. (2019) Rabbit welfare: Determining priority welfare issues for pet rabbits using a modified Delphi method. Veterinary Record Open, 6 (1), p.e000363. https://doi.org/10.1136/vetreco-2019-000363
The February 2020 edition of inFOCUS contains a summary of this paper. - Rooney, N.J. et al. (2014) The current state of welfare, housing and husbandry of the English pet rabbit population. BMC Research Notes, 7, no. 942. https://doi.org/10.1186/1756-0500-7-942
- O’Neill, D.G. et al. (2020) Morbidity and mortality of domestic rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) under primary veterinary care in England. Veterinary Record, 186 (14), pp. 451. https://doi.org/10.1136/vr.105592
- Robinson, N.J. et al. (2017) Veterinarian nominated common conditions of rabbits and guinea pigs compared with published literature. Veterinary sciences, 4 (4), no. 58. https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci4040058
The February 2018 edition of inFOCUS contains a summary of this paper. - Mee, G. et al. (2022) Owner demographic factors are associated with suitable pet rabbit housing provision in the United Kingdom. Veterinary Record, p.e1736. https://doi.org/10.1002/vetr.1736
- Sayers, I. (2010) Approach to preventive health care and welfare in rabbits. In Practice, 32 (5), pp. 190-198. https://doi.org/10.1136/inp.c2228
- Malley, D. (2007) Safe handling and restraint of pet rabbits. In Practice, 29 (7), pp. 378-386. https://doi.org/10.1136/inpract.29.7.378
Welfare codes
- APGAW (2021) Good Practice Code for the Welfare of Rabbits: Created to support Section 15 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006. [online] London: APGAW. Available from: https://apgaw.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Rabbit-CoP-2021-1.pdf [accessed 10 November 2022]
- Welsh Assembly Government [2021] Code of Practice for the Welfare of Rabbits: Following the code. [online] Cardiff: Crown Copyright. Available from: https://gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2021-02/rabbit-welfare-code-of-practice.pdf [accessed 10 November 2022]
- Pet rabbit welfare guidance [Scottish Government][online]. Available from: https://www.gov.scot/publications/pet-rabbit-welfare-guidance/ [accessed 10 November 2022]
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