Through our Good Farm Animal Welfare Awards programme, Compassion engages and rewards market leading food companies for their current policies or commitments that result in positive impacts on farm animal welfare in their supply chains.

Rabbits are the second most farmed animal in Europe. 1.2 billion are slaughtered globally each year, almost half of which are in China – the world’s largest producer - and barren-caged housing is widespread.

In 2014 Compassion awarded German wholesaler ‘BreFood' with a Rabbit Innovation Award for developing a cage-free, higher welfare system for its frozen rabbit meat supply.

By working together with its rabbit producers, Kangda in China, and experts from NGO Four Paws, BreFood has moved ALL the rabbits in its supply chain from cages into open pens which offer key welfare benefits.

All BreFood’s frozen rabbit meat is now produced to these higher welfare standards which is certified by Four Paws and sold to retailers across Germany.

BreFood has also launched a new pet food range using its higher welfare rabbit meat.

Through its higher welfare policy for meat rabbits, BreFood is benefitting over 1.2 million rabbits per year and has clearly demonstrated that cage-free meat rabbit production is commercially viable.

Watch the video here…

Rabbit Innovation Award 2014