The truths of rabbit factory farming - 9:45 AM, 18/6/2009

Whenever you see rabbit on a menu or sold in a butcher shop, this is where they come from.  There is no nice way of "farming" rabbit.  Conditions are dirty, smelly & disgusting.  Processing is cruel & inhumane. 

Every state of Australia farms rabbit.  These rabbit farm sheds are hidden in outer areas of cities and are kept away from the public view so the community is unaware of what happens behind closed doors.  Slaughter houses are nearby so the public never see rabbits on the move to their fate.  Rabbits are not stunned before slaughter.  The inevitable killing of these animals is beyond the imagination. 

These factory farms are jam packed with tens of thousands of rabbits packed into small metal crates stacked next to each other in grouped sheds.  Each rabbit is kept in a small wire box with only enough space to sit & turn around.   Food is cheap pellets fed down in a shute.  The floor is open wire so poo & wee falls through to a densely caked area below. 

Imagine living in a box all your life, no sunlight, no room to stretch or stand up.  Every 4 weeks if your're a female breeding rabbit, you're raped by an unknown male (rabbit mating is quite aggressive, leaving bites & scratches).  Four weeks later, you give birth to your babies in this dirty, cold crate.  Another few weeks later, a lid opens above you & your babies are grabbed & taken away.  Then the whole process starts again!

After continuous breeding for 2-3 years, that's it.  Your life is useless & you are off to the slaughterhouse.