The Association of Shelter Veterinarians’ Guidelines for Humane Rabbit Housing in Animal Shelters
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56771/jsmcah.v4.149Keywords:
rabbit welfare, animal shelter housing, environmental enrichment, species-specific care, capacity for careDownloads
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Appendices
Appendix A: Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease prevention and mitigation
Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease (RHD) is a serious and often fatal illness caused by the calicivirus Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus (RHDV1 and RHDV2).101,105 Since 2020, the RHDV2 virus, has spread rapidly across North America and is expected to pose an ongoing threat to both wild and domestic rabbits.102,103 Shelters that house multiple rabbits from different community sources pose a high-risk environment for transmission and mass mortality due to RHD.104 Due to this risk, RHD is described more extensively in this Appendix.
All shelters need RHD prevention and mitigation plans developed in consultation with a veterinarian familiar with the shelter facility and population as well as regional risk.106 These recommendations are not intended to supersede local, state, provincial, territorial, or federal requirements. Shelters that admit wild rabbits for rehabilitation should work with a veterinarian with wildlife training as well as their state or provincial veterinarian to create protocols specific to wild rabbits.
Prevention and mitigation plan
In general, an RHD prevention and mitigation plan for domestic rabbits includes the following elements62,102,108,109:
Maintaining the shelter rabbit population within the capacity for humane care
Providing housing that meets or exceeds standards for materials, layout, and space (see Primary Enclosures)
Taking a consistent history of all incoming rabbits
Creating a case definition and response plan for suspect cases, including immediate isolation and reporting to relevant government authorities where required
Training field services and shelter staff and volunteers on RHD recognition, prevention and response
Whether or not vaccinations will be provided and providing appropriate flea medications to all incoming rabbits in affected or potentially affected regions
Quarantining some or all incoming rabbits for 10 days based on assessed risk (see Figure 6)101
Implementing biosecurity protocols that include both PPE and order of care from lowest to highest risk to minimize risk of transmission between primary enclosures
Obtaining and storing feed, browse, treats, and chewable enrichment items in a manner that minimizes risk of introduction of contaminated items
Maintaining sanitation protocols that target durable non-enveloped viruses including RHDV2105
Managing the population proactively in a manner that minimizes LOS and limits the number of at-risk rabbits on site at any given time
Incoming quarantine considerations
Although routine quarantine periods at intake are rarely indicated for domestic shelter animals, RHDV2 poses a particularly severe risk to a general population of shelter rabbits and affected shelters and sanctuaries have experienced 100% mortality due to death or depopulation.107 The decision to quarantine specific incoming rabbits or incoming rabbits in general at a specific shelter is made based on a risk assessment.
Elements of this assessment should include:
Regional risk
Individual history including vaccination status
Intake type
Size of resident population
Vaccination status of resident population
Housing/room layout
Average LOS and whether it will be meaningfully increased by a quarantine
Anticipated outcome
Suspect cases must not be housed with the quarantine population and must be strictly isolated and handled in accordance with direction from the state or provincial veterinarian. If a case occurs in a quarantine area, the quarantine clock should be restarted.
In general, rabbits under quarantine need to:
Be spatially separated from other rabbits (individual primary enclosures in a dedicated room or area)
Have PPE used for care and changed between every primary enclosure (gowns, gloves, shoe covers, caps)
Remain available for positive outcomes such as foster, return-to-owner, or adoption where feasible while segregated from the general population
Quarantine decisions will vary between organizations and even between incoming rabbits within an organization.
General factors that may decrease the need for quarantine include:
Not being in or near a recently (within last 2 years) affected geographic area
Individual incoming rabbits with current vaccines
Having a very small resident rabbit population
General factors that increase the need for quarantine include:
Being in or near a recently affected area
Incoming rabbits who are not known to be vaccinated
Rabbits who have had contact with the outdoors or with wild/feral rabbits in the last 10 days
Having a large resident rabbit population
Shelters that decide not to quarantine despite being in an area of local risk are strongly urged to vaccinate all rabbits. Regardless of vaccine policy, adopters of rabbits adopted with no quarantine period or within the quarantine period should be informed to monitor for signs of RHD via a standardized disclosure.
Appendix B: Photos illustrating elements of humane rabbit housing
Fig. 1. Example of a housing unit that, at 15 ft2 (1.4 m2) of floor space, meets (and slightly exceeds) minimum acceptable dimensions listed in Table 3 while still providing hiding space, enrichment, and separation of sleeping and elimination areas. An additional exercise area is provided for rabbits housed in these enclosures (Figure 2).
San Diego Humane Society, CA, U.S.A.
Fig. 2. Example of exercise space and volunteer interaction at San Diego Humane Society, CA, U.S.A.
Fig. 3. Example of pair housing, approximately 30 ft2 (2.8 m2). Rabbits have ability to spend time in separate areas of the enclosure. Note natural light, multiple litterboxes, water sources, enrichment, large hiding area. San Diego Humane Society, CA, U.S.A.
Fig. 4. Dog kennel converted to rabbit housing. Note size wide enough for pairs, multiple hiding spaces, varied floor substrate, use of vertical space. BC SPCA Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Fig. 5. Note varied floor substrates, food puzzle toys, chair for visitor, and combination hay rack feeder/litter box.1 The Bunny Cafe, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Fig. 6. Example of large enclosure for small group housing, including multiple hiding areas, use of vertical space, varied flooring materials, and ability for community members to enter. The Bunny Cafe, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Fig. 7. Foster home enclosure > 45 ft2 (4.2 m2) with doe, bonded female, and babies. Note the width is greater than 5 ft (1.5 m), availability of multiple resources (hiding spaces, litter boxes, water dishes, enrichment items, etc.). BC SPCA, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Fig. 8. Shelter enclosure for pairs or trios. Not multiple hiding areas, variety of flooring surfaces, elevated space, ladder, toys, gnawing material, tunnel, natural light, and access to sheltered outdoor enclosure. Space is large enough for visitors to enter enclosure for visiting with rabbits. New Westminster Animal Shelter, New Westminster, BC, Canada.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Erica Schumacher, Elizabeth Berliner, Sarah Hicks, Chumkee Aziz, Emilia Wong Gordon, Zarah Hedge, Kate Hurley, Jessica Reed, Rebecca Stuntebeck
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