How The Law Fails Them

How the Duty of Care Exists — but Isn’t Enforced

The Animal Welfare Act 2006 outlines a legal duty of care for all domestic animals. This includes rabbits and rodents.

On paper, they are protected. In reality, the law is failing them at every level.

We now have decades of scientific research showing exactly what these animals need to live healthy, enriched, pain-free lives. Yet the housing, diets, and products sold for them remain almost entirely incompatible with those needs.

A Suitable Environment / A Suitable Diet /

The Five Legal Welfare Needs — and How They’re Being Ignored

Each of the five legal welfare needs is meant to protect animals from suffering. But for rabbits and rodents, none of them are being meaningfully upheld.

1. A Suitable Environment

“Animals need a safe, clean, and comfortable place to live that meets their specific needs.”

Scientific research shows that small, barren enclosures cause stress, abnormal behaviour, and physical harm.

Hamsters in small cages show increased bar biting, frantic digging, and other signs of distress.

Rabbits in hutches have higher stress hormone levels and lower indicators of positive welfare as space decreases.

One is welfare-led. The other should be illegal.

The enclosure on the left (50×36×29cm) is frequently marketed as “extra large” — yet it falls drastically short of meeting a hamster’s basic needs. Scientific research shows that enclosures of this size lead to stress, abnormal behaviours, and poor welfare.

The Bucatstate enclosure on the right (120×60×60cm) is one of the very few commercially available options that meets or exceeds the minimum size requirements recommended by peer-reviewed studies to provide a suitable environment for hamsters, mice, and gerbils.

Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, animals must be kept in an environment suited to their species-specific needs. By that standard, cages like the one on the left — still widely sold and marketed — do not comply with the law. Yet they remain on the market, normalised by the pet industry and overlooked by enforcement.

👉 Most housing sold in pet shops falls well below recommended minimums.

So if the law demands a suitable environment — and we know what that looks like — why are harmful products still legal?

2. A Suitable Diet

“Animals require a balanced and nutritious diet that supports health.”

Muesli mixes for rabbits lead to selective feeding, obesity, and dental disease.

Rodent mixes often contain high-fat ingredients like peanuts and sugary items like raisins, which are especially dangerous for species such as chinchillas and degus. These animals do not produce insulin and are unable to process sugars and fats effectively. Over time, these ingredients can lead to fatty liver disease, organ failure, and ultimately death.

Treats are often high in sugar, fat, or ingredients unsuitable for the species they’re marketed for.

One is welfare-led. The other should be illegal.

The enclosure on the left (50×36×29cm) is frequently marketed as “extra large” — yet it falls drastically short of meeting a hamster’s basic needs. Scientific research shows that enclosures of this size lead to stress, abnormal behaviours, and poor welfare.

The Bucatstate enclosure on the right (120×60×60cm) is one of the very few commercially available options that meets or exceeds the minimum size requirements recommended by peer-reviewed studies to provide a suitable environment for hamsters, mice, and gerbils.

Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, animals must be kept in an environment suited to their species-specific needs. By that standard, cages like the one on the left — still widely sold and marketed — do not comply with the law. Yet they remain on the market, normalised by the pet industry and overlooked by enforcement.

👉 These are not fringe products — they are commonly sold, widely marketed, and routinely used.

So if the law demands a suitable diet — and we know what that looks like — why are harmful products still legal?