Editing Cuniculture (section)

===Present day (2000–present)===
[[File:SB040 Rabbit farming Cuba 1.JPG|thumb|left|Cuniculture at a small farm in Cuba (2015)]]
Approximately 1.2 billion rabbits are slaughtered each year for meat worldwide.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QL|title=FAOSTAT|website=www.fao.org|access-date=2019-10-25}}</ref> In more recent years and in some countries, cuniculture has come under pressure from [[animal rights activists]] on several fronts. The use of animals, including rabbits, in [[Animal testing|scientific experiments]] has been subject to increased scrutiny in developed countries. Increasing regulation has raised the cost of producing animals for this purpose, and made other experimental options more attractive. Other researchers have abandoned investigations which required animal models.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Abbott|first=Allison|title=Court Orders Temporary Closure of Dog-Breeding Facility|journal=Nature|date=2 August 2012|doi=10.1038/nature.2012.11121|s2cid=159786021|url=http://www.nature.com/news/court-orders-temporary-closure-of-italian-dog-breeding-premises-1.11121|doi-access=free}}</ref> Meanwhile, various rescue groups under the [[House Rabbit Society]] umbrella have taken an increasingly strident stance against any breeding of rabbits (even as food in developing countries) on the grounds that it contributes to the number of mistreated, unwanted or abandoned animals.<ref>{{cite web|title=HRS Activist Corner|url=http://www.rabbit.org/opinion/activist.html|publisher=House Rabbit Society|access-date=15 October 2012}}</ref>
[[File:Bigger hutch.jpg|thumb|right|Cuniculture in the Czech countryside (2007)|190px]] The growth of homesteaders and [[smallholder]]s has led to the rise of visibility of rabbit raisers in geographic areas where they have not been previously present. This has led to zoning conflicts over the regulation of butchering and waste management. Conflicts have also arisen with House Rabbit Society organizations as well as [[ethical vegetarian]]s and [[vegans]] concerning the use of rabbits as meat and fur animals rather than as pets.<ref>{{cite news|last=Hottle|first=Molly|title=23 Rabbits Stolen from Portland Meat Collective Farmer|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2012/01/23_rabbits_stolen_from_portlan.htmlocal/story/Theft-of-rabbits-likely-politically-motivated/VHj8kZaLekaY0A3y-fo31w.cspx|newspaper=The Oregonian|access-date=15 October 2012}}</ref> Conversely, many homesteaders cite concern with animal welfare in [[intensive farming]] of beef, pork and poultry as a significant factor in choosing to raise rabbits for meat.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}
In August 2022, an animal rights campaign group in the UK called "Shut Down T&S Rabbits" succeeded in closing down a network of rabbit meat and fur farms across the East Midlands region.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://corporatewatch.org/interview-how-we-shut-down-ts-rabbit-breeders/ | title=Interview: How we shut down T&S rabbit breeders | date=September 2022 }}</ref>


The specific future direction of cuniculture is unclear, but does not appear to be in danger of disappearing in any particular part of the world. The variety of applications, as well as the versatile utility of the species, appears sufficient to keep rabbit raising a going concern in one aspect or another around the planet.{{vague|date=August 2020}}{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}