Rabbit farms face prosecution over abuse footage

Sixteen Dutch rabbit farms could face criminal prosecution after undercover footage showed bunnies being lifted by the ears and thrown into crates, and sick animals beaten to death, junior agriculture minister Silvio Erkens has said.

The images, filmed by campaign group Animal Rights, were shot at 16 companies that export live rabbits to slaughterhouses in Belgium. They show the animals being picked up by the ears, fur, legs or head and thrown in large numbers into transport crates and shopping trolleys, where they can be crushed.

“What can be seen in the footage is terrible,” Erkens said in answer to parliamentary questions from D66 and the animal rights party PvdD, calling the treatment unacceptable. Some people, he added, appeared to feel free to handle animals this way when no inspector was nearby.

The food safety board NVWA has received a large amount of recent footage and is checking it for authenticity. If abuse is found companies are prosecuted. In 2024 a slaughterhouse was fined for cruelty after activists released undercover video.

Footage seen so far points to structural and serious failings in how the animals are handled, Erkens said. He has also set up new checks on how rabbits are caught and loaded – a stage of animal transport that inspections had largely overlooked, and will update parliament by the end of the year.