Sixteen rabbit farms in the Netherlands could face criminal prosecution over alleged animal abuse recorded by campaign group Animal Rights.
The farms export live rabbits to slaughterhouses in Belgium.
Animal Rights recorded the rabbits while workers were catching and loading them for transportation.
The footage allegedly shows workers lifting rabbits by their ears, fur, legs and heads before throwing them into transport crates and shopping trolleys.
Some crates appeared overcrowded, placing the animals at risk of being crushed.
The organisation also claims that sick or injured rabbits were killed by being struck against the ground.
Junior agriculture minister Silvio Erkens condemned what he saw in the videos.
“What can be seen in the footage is terrible,” Erkens said while responding to parliamentary questions from D66 and the Party for the Animals.
He described the treatment as unacceptable and said some workers appeared to believe they could mistreat animals when inspectors were absent.
Animal Rights reportedly filmed 26 loading operations between November 2025 and February 2026.
Its wider investigation covered 18 rabbit farms, including 16 in the Netherlands and two in Belgium.
The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority, known as the NVWA, has received a large amount of footage.
Inspectors are checking whether the recordings are authentic and whether the actions shown broke animal-welfare laws.
The material examined so far appears to show serious and structural failures in the treatment of the rabbits, according to Erkens.
Companies can face criminal prosecution if investigators confirm that animal abuse occurred. However, the investigation is continuing and the allegations have not yet been proven against every farm.
Erkens has ordered additional inspections focusing on how rabbits are caught and loaded for transport. This part of the process had received limited attention during previous inspections.
He is expected to update the Dutch parliament about the investigation before the end of 2026.
