The influence of an unfamiliar person’s presence on shelter use, feeding, and exploratory behavior in domestic rabbits during animal-assisted interventions

Abstract

Rabbits have been increasingly used in Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAI) in recent years. The issue of their welfare during these interventions, however, remains insufficiently explored. The common practice of holding a rabbit on the client’s lap often leads to signs of stress. An alternative could be the use of a therapeutic table which allows for partial movement and provides a hiding place. This study aimed to analyze rabbits’ behavior during AAI and determine whether the therapeutic table represents an appropriate compromise for ensuring their well-being, or whether a no-contact approach with the client would be more suitable. The study included 9 female domestic rabbits habituated to human handling and 4 children, aged 9–11 years, unknown to the rabbits. A randomized controlled within-subject design with repeated measures was used. Each rabbit was tested twice in two different conditions: either on a specially adapted table with a hiding place in the presence of a child or without the presence of a child. A total of 36 sessions, each lasting 10 min, were conducted. The use of the hiding place, exploratory behavior, and feed intake were monitored, with all sessions video-recorded and later analyzed using Observer XT software. Statistical analysis was performed using R software (version 4.3.3; unction glmer in lme4 package and nlme package). The results showed that the rabbits spent on average three times more in the shelter during therapeutic sessions when a child was present compared to sessions without a child (F_1,34 = 2.051; p = 0.051). Rabbits displayed exploratory activity significantly less (F_1,34 = 6.308; p < 0.0001) in the presence of a child, whereas in his absence, this time increased. Additionally, we observed a significant reduction in feed intake: in the presence of a child, the rabbits ate in less than 20 % of the observation time, while in the control group, feed intake was recorded in more than 80 % of the observation time (F_1,34 = 2.709; p = 0.007). The findings suggest that even though the therapeutic table provided hiding opportunities and allowed for movement, it did not fully mitigate the negative impact of the unfamiliar child’s presence on the rabbits’ welfare during AAI. These insights must be considered when planning and conducting these interventions, taking into account the welfare of the participating animals.