نبذة مختصرة : Fear is an emotion that may negatively affect rabbits ’ welfare, as a consequence of bad handling during the rearing period. A number of recent researches suggests that a certain level of gentle handling in the pups, scheduled very accurately, can reduce the fear stress of the animals towards new environments and humans. The fear response may be reduced by handling around nursing time during the first week after birth. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of regular daily handling on weight gain and on the fear reaction towards a new environment and towards human beings in domestic rabbit pups. We obtained different results between handled pups and control pups in the emergence test and in the immobility test. In fact we found that a minimal human contact applied before nursing reduced the fear of humans in rabbit pups. Our handling method, requiring minimal contact, can be used to reduce fear and improve welfare in rabbits. Furthermore, the short length of the handling procedure allows stockpersons to produce tamer rabbits, which could have a better reproductive and productive capacity due to reduced stress levels.
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