Cape Town, 15 May 2025 – Global animal welfare organisation FOUR PAWS firmly opposes the intensive farming of rabbits. Rabbits are sentient, highly sensitive animals who suffer greatly in confined, barren environments typically associated with industrial farming systems. While rabbit farming remains a relatively small sector in South Africa, the practice is expanding, often without proper oversight or welfare standards in place. Globally, more than a billion cage-reared rabbits are slaughtered annually. These systems prevent rabbits from exercising their natural behaviours, and subject them to intensive confinement, injury, and behavioural and physiological disorders. . In South Africa, this unregulated space has allowed for practices that are not aligned with good welfare. Now, as the Department of Agriculture has taken a step towards regulating the slaughter of rabbits by publishing the Draft Rabbit Meat Regulations under the Meat Safety Act 40 of 2000, it is imperative that animal welfare be embedded into the heart of these new regulations. Without robust and enforceable welfare provisions, the industry will continue to expand without protection for the very animals it relies on. The lack of comprehensive welfare provisions in the Draft Regulations is thus of great concern.

The Draft Regulations focus heavily on hygiene, health, and biosecurity protocols, yet neglect to fully address the humane treatment and welfare of rabbits throughout their handling, transportation, and slaughter. 

FOUR PAWS urges the Department to include the following key animal welfare measures in the final regulations:

1. Explicit definitions for “welfare” and “humane” to guide enforcement.
2. Mandatory, immediate, humane euthanasia for rabbits unfit for slaughter or in severe pain and distress.
3. Express, science-based prescriptions, that are in line with international best practice, for acceptable stunning and slaughter methods—rather than leaving approval to provincial and national executive officers’ discretion.
4. Requirement for abattoirs to submit comprehensive welfare plans, including staff training and humane handling protocols.
5. Fire evacuation and contingency plans to safeguard rabbits in emergencies such as load-shedding, strikes, transport disruptions, plant breakdown, or natural disasters. This includes alternative means of maintaining ongoing environmental control, including ventilation, temperature control, and provision of shelter, adequate space, food, and water.
6. Humane handling, lairage, and transport procedures to ensure rabbits are not exposed to adverse weather, extreme temperatures, overcrowding, distress, and injury.
7. Ensuring rabbits have access to water up until the time of slaughter and are not deprived of food for more than 12 hours prior.
8. Facilities must be designed so rabbits are not within sight, sound, or smell of other animals being stunned and slaughtered.
9. Stunning and slaughter must occur in a separate area to carcass processing, to avoid causing distress to rabbits.
10. Throughput must be reduced, if line speed compromises the welfare of the rabbits.
11. Welfare should underpin and inform all the provisions throughout the regulations.

TAKE ACTION:

Members of the public are encouraged to send their comments on the Draft Rabbit Meat Regulations to the Department at VPH@Dalrrd.gov.za , with the subject line: ‘COMMENTS ON THE DRAFT RABBIT MEAT REGULATIONS TO BE PUBLISHED UNDER THE MEAT SAFETY ACT 40 OF 2000’
Deadline for submissions: 27 May 2025

It could be as simple as copying and pasting the above key animal welfare measures into your email. Alternatively, by amending the wording and writing your submission in your own words.

For more information about rabbits, please visit our website: www.four-paws.org.za

/ENDS