British rabbit owners can recognize pain in their pets, study finds

Rabbits are popular family pets, with around 1.5 million kept in the UK. To protect a rabbit's welfare, it is important for owners to recognize when their animal is in pain and know when to seek help. A new study by the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Bristol found that the vast majority of rabbit owners were able to list the signs of pain and could mostly tell the difference between rabbits in no pain and rabbits in severe pain. Many rabbits lacked knowledge of subtle signs of pain.

This study BMC Veterinary Researchprovides the first insight into how rabbit owners identify pain and their general ability to apply this knowledge to accurately detect pain.

Rabbits are a prey species and have evolved to hide signs of illness or pain. Recent research has developed pain scales for use by veterinarians, such as the Bristol Rabbit Pain Scale (BRPS), but to date, research has not investigated rabbit owners' ability to recognize pain in their animals. Is not …

This study investigated how owners identify pain in their pet rabbits, their ability to correctly distinguish between different levels of pain, and areas where owners could benefit from education.

Owners were recruited through various channels, including Facebook, and completed a two-part online survey. In part 1, we collected data on rabbit demographics, owner knowledge of pain symptoms, and beliefs about pain. Part 2 asked respondents to provide pain scores for his eight videos of rabbits with varying levels of pain recorded during routine veterinary treatment to compare with pain scores created by three experts. I asked for

The researchers used an abbreviated version of the BRPS that includes a single 0-3 scale. The research team looked at the number of pain symptoms each respondent could list, the total score given to the videos, and the difference from the experts' scores.

A total of 500 people completed part 1 of the survey and 345 completed part 2. Most respondents were able to identify five signs of pain, including loss of appetite and changes in posture and movement, but decreased grooming behavior and changes in the position of the eyes and ears are also signs of pain. I wasn't really aware of the possibilities. Women, people who worked with rabbits, and people who had experience in rabbit surgery perceived pain more accurately.

Overall, 98.6% of respondents correctly thought that rabbits feel pain as much or more than dogs and cats. In part 2, respondents were more likely to agree with experts when recognizing rabbits with no pain (88.8%) and severe pain (65.2%), but less likely to identify rabbits with mild pain (28.4%) and moderate pain. Agreement was lower when recognizing degree of pain (43.2%). The respondent rated pain overall lower than the experts, with her mean total pain score of 11.9 compared to 18 given by the experts.

Dr Nicola Rooney, Senior Lecturer in Wildlife and Conservation at Bristol Veterinary School and corresponding author, said: 'Most rabbit owners will be able to list a number of signs of pain, and some rabbits are in no pain and others are severely affected. “The ability to distinguish between mild and moderate pain is even more limited and could benefit from training on subtle signs of pain.” Veterinarians should also be aware of areas where owner knowledge can be improved.”

Lead author Charlotte Fodor, who carried out the study for her final research dissertation for the Bachelor of Veterinary Nursing and Bioveterinary Medicine, said: “Our research highlights the communication gap between owners and veterinarians. “It is very important to talk to and advise owners when their animals are being treated.” “This is important to ensure the best outcome for the animal. It's also a great opportunity for the veterinary community to educate owners about the signs of pain in rabbits.”