Announcing Rabbits Left Behind

The Welsh Government is moving forward with plans to regulate animal welfare establishments, including rescues. We want to be clear from the outset that we fully support this move. Strong, well-designed regulation is essential for improving welfare and ensuring better protection for vulnerable animals.

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However, through our work in rescue and welfare, we also know that rabbits and rodents remain among the most neglected and misunderstood companion animals. For this proposed regulation to be truly effective, it must properly reflect the species-specific welfare needs of all animals — and be grounded in up-to-date evidence and modern understanding of their care.

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It was within this context that we raised concerns with Huw Irranca-Davies, Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs regarding how rabbit and rodent welfare would be represented within the new regulatory framework. In response, we received communication from the Welsh Government’s Animal Welfare Branch which identified the Code of Practice for the Welfare of Rabbits as the primary reference point for ensuring that rabbits’ welfare needs would be met.

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This response raised serious concerns.

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The rabbit Code of Practice was published in 2009 and has never been formally reviewed or updated. In contrast, the Codes of Practice for dogs, cats and equines were reviewed and updated between 2017 and 2019. As a result, the rabbit code no longer reflects modern welfare research or current understanding of rabbits’ needs — particularly in relation to environment, behaviour, and the prevention of suffering, as set out under the Animal Welfare Act.

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Given the role that Codes of Practice play in shaping guidance, enforcement, and education, relying on an outdated code presents a significant risk to rabbit welfare in Wales. It also means that regulation intended to improve standards may fail to deliver meaningful protection for rabbits in practice.

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For this reason, we submitted a full, evidence-based review of the rabbit Code of Practice to the Animal Welfare Branch, calling for it to be formally reviewed and updated to reflect modern welfare understanding. The response we received confirmed that updating the code is not currently being considered.

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Advocating for rabbit welfare has always been at the heart of everything we do at Nibbles. Faced with this position, we felt a responsibility to continue being a voice for rabbits and to ensure their welfare needs are fully recognised and protected.

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This work has led to the development of Rabbits Left Behind: a collaborative, evidence-led campaign calling for the Welsh rabbit Code of Practice to be formally reviewed and updated so it reflects modern welfare science and understanding.

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At this stage, Rabbits Left Behind is in a pre-launch phase. With Senedd elections approaching, we are taking a careful and considered approach to ensure that this campaign is launched at a time when meaningful commitments can be sought and progress can be achieved. Over the coming months, we will be sharing more about the issues within the current code, why they matter for rabbit welfare, and how supporters can help us push for change once the campaign formally launches.

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This is the beginning of that conversation.

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If you would like to stand with us as Rabbits Left Behind develops, you can sign up to a dedicated campaign mailing list below. This list will be used to share key updates on the campaign’s progress and information on ways to support it at important stages in the future.