Congratulations to Dr Amy Miller on the publication of her new book chapter: ‘Pain recognition in rabbits’!
Here are some excepts from the chapter!
Recognizing pain in rabbits
In a familiar low-stress environment, normal rabbits are typically alert, active, and inquisitive.13 When in pain, they may appear apprehensive, anxious, or dull.14 Conversely, it has also been noted that when painful they may show aggressive behavior, whereas activity may be increased alongside increased scratching or licking.14 Rabbits will frequently scan their environment and will attempt to flee or hide if any danger is perceived15 e.g., in the presence of an unfamiliar caregiver.
Subjective and objective clinical signs
Various indicators can be of value when assessing pain in rabbits, although they should be used with caution as they may not be pain specific and could be the results of e.g. stress or fear.
Behavioral assessment
Observing and quantifying spontaneous behavior has been used successfully in pain assessment following surgery in various laboratory species such as rats,21 guinea pigs22 and also companion species including cats23 and dogs.24
Composite pain scales
Composite pain scales take into account various behavioral and physiological parameters when assessing pain. The first composite pain scale, developed specifically for rabbits was the CANCRS which was designed specifically for the clinical environment and appropriate to be used with various breeds.33