Policy Statements

The RWA&F does not recommend the use of harnesses for exercising rabbits.

Using one to take a rabbit for a walk would mean they would be in danger from disease and predators, and there’s the added danger that they could escape or be injured.

Rabbits are most active at dawn and dusk and those are the times when they will feel most like exercising. They run in short, rapid bursts so taking them for a walk on a harness is not a good way to exercise them and most often it will not be at a good time of day for them. It’s far more appropriate for them to have permanent access to a large enclosure with plenty of enrichment so they can exercise as they please and when the mood takes them.

There are additional dangers in taking rabbits, a prey animal species, into public areas where they may meet dogs and cats, and in exposing them to deadly diseases such as myxomatosis and Viral Haemorrhagic Diseases 1 and 2.