I agree 100% Pertinax, we rescued a rabbit from friends who just left it in the hutch all day long, I threatened to take it away if their children didn't look after it, sadly that back fired and they had it about 3 years and we 8 he went through 2 wives and lived in a big open run some 12 feet by 10 and loved to climb so we gave him logs and old chairs etc he loved it. The fence around the run was only about 15 inches on the open side, but he never wanted to leave, his wives did though and we had a devil of a job to get them back in the run if we let them out in the garden.
Flops was fascinated by helicopters and would watch the military ones fly over head whilst standing on his back legs, sometimes falling back wards as he over stretched himself when they were directly over head. Happy days.
When we kept them, they had large hutches and runs but in fine weather, free range of the garden also. It was never a real problem to get them back in their respective homes, they each knew where to go. Of course you have to be prepared for them digging in the soil but they loved the freedom.
If you kept a dog confined like many people permanently keep pet rabbits( usually singular) confined in tiny hutches, the RSPCA would have something to say, I'm sure.
