Rabbits are gentle, docile animals that are used in experiments because they breed easily and quickly. Sadly, they also provide a larger amount of sample material per animal than rats or mice.

They are used as bioreactors for antibody production¹ and have been the standard animal to test skin and eye irritation of cosmetics and other products.

A well-known rabbit-based test used internationally is the Draize Test, an animal test that is used to try and assess if a substance will cause any eye or skin irritancy in humans by measuring the side effects on animals, normally albino rabbits. This test was developed in the 1940s and is less accurate than animal-free methods.^2,3 In the past, we ran a campaign to remove this requirement for the Draize test from NZ law!

Rabbits are also used in medical research to try and model human health conditions to investigate mechanisms and test medications.⁴ 

Rabbits are the main animals used for testing chemicals and the production of biological agents (i.e., antibodies) in NZ. Antibodies are a type of cell within the immune system of the body. Many laboratory techniques use antibodies for a range of different tests, for example, biological quality control and toxicity testing. The use of animal-derived antibodies is increasingly questioned, with animal-free antibodies being recommended by the EU Joint Research Centre⁵. 

While many animals are still alive at the end of being used for science, the percentage of rabbits who died or were killed after being used for science has never been below 85% in the last decade.⁶

Rabbits in NZ have been used for:

• The production of antibodies for laboratory use.
• Drug research, including safety testing.
• Teaching purposes in schools, including for observation and dissection.
• Conservation research, because they are an unwanted species. For example, in 2021, 55,000 rabbits were used in a trial to assess the impact of an experimental formulation containing 1080 in carrot baits.
• Medical research, including for testing surgical procedures and imaging equipment. Rabbits are also used to try and model human conditions (i.e., glaucoma, heart failure and sinusitis).
• Basic biological research into how vital signs change during intercourse, bones grow and the digestive tract moves.

Places that use rabbits for science in NZ include private companies, universities, and polytechnics.

Rabbits used for science in NZ are sourced from breeding units, farms, the wild (captured), commercial sources and other public sources.*

*According to the Ministry for Primary Industries, public sources include: Public donations, animals obtained from a pound, a pet shop or other public sources. This includes companion animals who are used for the duration of the exercise (e.g. veterinary nurse training).

Discover real-life examples of how rabbits have been used in NZ below!