In Australia thousands of rabbits are factory farmed, kept in dirty windowless sheds, similar to battery hens. The sheds confine rabbits to small overcrowded metal cages. They are kept in these cages until they are killed at around 1.5kg (usually10-12 weeks of age). Their bodies are sold to restaurants, butchers and select supermarkets. Although it is not known exactly how many producers are in business at one time, as of 2007 there are 43 rabbit farms Australia-wide (except in Queensland). The average farm imprisons 300 breeding does per farm. With the growing popularity of rabbit meat, the amount of farms and rabbits killed is set to rise. Global rabbit meat consumption in 2004 was 1.1 million tonnes. Approximately half this amount comes from farms. Raising rabbits for meat is frequently promoted as an easy and lucrative money-maker, and often attracts people to the industry with little or no experience. There is very little government inspection on rabbit farms: these places can go unlicensed and unregulated for years.
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