{"topic_id":"exotic_health_rabbit_welfare_code","category":"exotic-pet-health","context":"---\ntopic_id: exotic_health_rabbit_welfare_code\ncategory: exotic-pet-health\ntitle: \"Rabbit health & welfare — DAERA welfare code: daily/weekly checks, fly strike, vaccination, grooming, neutering\"\nlang: en\nsource: \"Code of Practice for the Welfare of Rabbits (DAERA, Northern Ireland, 2021) — Crown copyright, Open Government Licence (attribution required). Verbatim claims, C1 substring-verified.\"\nsource_file: pdf-raw/welfare-codes/rabbit_welfare_code_daera_ni.txt\ndate_parsed: 2026-08-04\ntokens_estimated: 380\nverification:\n  method: substring_match\n  claims: 18\n  passed: 18\n  date: 2026-08-04\nrecovered: false\npath: exotic-pet-health/exotic_health_rabbit_welfare_code/01_exotic_health_rabbit_welfare_code.md\nsource_document: \"Code of Practice for the Welfare of Rabbits — DAERA (daera-ni.gov.uk), statutory code under Welfare of Animals Act (NI) 2011\"\ncitation:\n  authority: \"DAERA (Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Northern Ireland)\"\n  title: \"Code of Practice for the Welfare of Rabbits\"\n  url: \"https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/daera/20.21.048%20Code%20of%20Practice%20Rabbits.PDF\"\n  retrieved: \"2026-08-04\"\n  doc_type: \"statutory code of practice (Open Government Licence)\"\n  needs_review: false\nlicense: permission_granted\ncopyright_note: \"Crown copyright material licensed under the Open Government Licence (DAERA crown-copyright page archived at pdf-raw/welfare-codes/daera_crown_copyright_page.txt): re-use free of charge in any format with attribution, no implication of official endorsement, no misrepresentation. Attribution: Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Northern Ireland), Code of Practice for the Welfare of Rabbits, licensed under the OGL (nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/).\"\nauthority_tier: T1\nauthority_tier_basis: \"manual:OGL statutory welfare code (government, legal-minimum claim domain)\"\nauthority_tier_date: 2026-08-04\n---\n\n# Rabbit health & welfare — DAERA Code of Practice for the Welfare of Rabbits (Section 5 + Introduction)\n\nSource: Code of Practice for the Welfare of Rabbits, DAERA (Northern Ireland), issued under section 16 of the Welfare of Animals Act (Northern Ireland) 2011. Crown copyright, re-used under the Open Government Licence v3.0 with attribution. All bullets below are exact verbatim substrings of the cited source_file and C1-substring verified.\n\n## Claims\n\n- `Owning and caring for a rabbit is great fun and very rewarding, but it is also a big responsibility and a long-term caring and financial commitment as they normally live for 7-12 years.`\n- `there are vaccines that are designed to protect rabbits from diseases such as Myxomatosis and Viral Haemorrhagic Disease (VHD). Both of these diseases are usually fatal and your rabbit should be vaccinated.`\n- `Prevent your rabbit having contact with wild rabbits or areas where wild rabbits have been.`\n- `Rabbits are prey animals and, to avoid attracting attention from predators, they often do not look ill until they are very unwell. They can become worse very quickly, so you need to act promptly.`\n- `You should consult a vet if your rabbit shows any signs of illness or a change in behaviour.`\n- `During warm weather, rabbits should be checked at least twice daily underneath and around the bottom for droppings. Having a dirty bottom can increase the risk of a condition known as fly strike which can kill a rabbit in a matter of hours.`\n- `You should contact your vet immediately if you find maggots on your rabbit.`\n- `watch your rabbit at least once a day to ensure it is behaving normally as well as eating and drinking its usual amount.`\n- `A rabbit with diarrhoea should be seen by a vet promptly.`\n- `it is a good idea to check your rabbit’s weight at least once a week. Loss of weight may indicate a dental or other health problem.`\n- `Only a veterinarian can check a rabbit’s back teeth and these should be done at least once a year.`\n- `Regular grooming is needed to keep your rabbit comfortable and prevent it swallowing lots of fur as this can cause a blockage of the bowel.`\n- `Rabbits with a short coat should be groomed weekly but longhaired rabbits should be groomed at least once a day to avoid matts and tangles.`\n- `Only a vet should correct misaligned or overgrown teeth.`\n- `Dental problems can cause a poor appetite, runny eyes, a wet chin or drooling. If your rabbit is showing any of these symptoms you should take it to see your vet promptly.`\n- `Rabbits that are not neutered tend to show problematic behaviour and may suffer health problems.`\n- `Females are usually neutered when they reach sexual maturity, at the age of 4 months, and males at the age of 3 months.`\n- `A female rabbit can produce between 4 to 12 babies per litter, and will become pregnant again soon after she has given birth.`\n","sources":["exotic-pet-health — Code of Practice for the Welfare of Rabbits (retrieved 2026-08-04)"],"source":{"authority":"exotic-pet-health","title":"Code of Practice for the Welfare of Rabbits","url":"https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/daera/20.21.048%20Code%20of%20Practice%20Rabbits.PDF","retrieved":"2026-08-04","ref":"","doc_type":"official PDF","source_document":"Code of Practice for the Welfare of Rabbits — DAERA (daera-ni.gov.uk), statutory code under Welfare of Animals Act (NI) 2011","verification_file":"pdf-raw/welfare-codes/rabbit_welfare_code_daera_ni.txt"},"source_document":"Code of Practice for the Welfare of Rabbits — DAERA (daera-ni.gov.uk), statutory code under Welfare of Animals Act (NI) 2011","source_file":"pdf-raw/welfare-codes/rabbit_welfare_code_daera_ni.txt","tokens_estimated":300,"generated_at":null,"tip":"Use /api/v1/topics to discover more topics. /api/v1/nutrient for precise single-point queries. /api/v1/cross_compare for 2-3 standard comparisons."}