Perceived Rabbit Care Knowledge Does Not Consistently Align with Owner-Reported Husbandry Practices: A Survey of Pet...

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Medicine
• Animal Behavior
• Animal Welfare Science

Background:

• Pet rabbit welfare is often compromised due to complex needs.
• Owner knowledge is crucial for animal care, but the link between perceived knowledge and actual practices is unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe husbandry practices and owner knowledge in Croatian pet rabbit owners.
• To assess if higher perceived knowledge correlates with better husbandry practices.

Main Methods:

• An online questionnaire surveyed 529 pet rabbit owners.
• Assessed owner-reported husbandry practices and perceived knowledge.
• Did not include direct assessments of rabbit health or welfare.

Main Results:

• Most owners (85.6%) reported high knowledge, but this wasn't reflected in practices.
• Higher perceived knowledge weakly to moderately correlated with enrichment, housing, and cleaning frequency.
• Perceived knowledge showed little association with social housing, free movement, and feeding practices.

Conclusions:

• A significant gap exists between perceived knowledge and actual pet rabbit husbandry.
• Educational strategies solely based on information may not improve welfare outcomes.
• Confidence in knowledge does not guarantee appropriate care implementation.