Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh. A neighbor of mine gave my husband and I a rabbit to keep as a family pet. We love our bunny but are afraid we will not be able to keep her. We rent our home and she chews on everything when she's not in her cage and she needs to come out of her cage for daily exercise. I understand this is her natural disposition and for this reason feel that she should not be kept as an indoor pet. Only thing is that she was born in captivity and other rabbit owners have told me, for this reason, she lacks her natural defense mechanisms to be able to protect herself from predators in the wild and that l would be putting her in danger if I set her free. Could that be true? I have called all the pet shelters in my community to see if they have room for her there but they all only take cats and dogs. I wants to do what's best for her. Can I let her free in the wild? Keep her? And also are we allowed to give her away or sell her? Jazaka Allah khairan

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

The matter in this regard is easy, as you may sell this rabbit, give it away, or slaughter it and eat its meat or give it to someone else to eat. A rabbit is among the animals whose meat is lawful. The evidence is that some Companions ate it and gave some of it to the Prophet who accepted it. Imaam An-Nawawi said: “Eating the rabbit is lawful according to Imaam Maalik, Abu Haneefah, Ash-Shaaafi’i, Ahmad and all the scholars….” For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 84598.

Also, it is permissible for you to let the rabbit free and you are not sinful; one would be sinful if he/she keeps it in a cage and does not give it food and drink until it dies. This is the case where the sin and threat apply in the Hadeeth of ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar who said: the Prophet said: “A woman was punished and entered Hellfire because she kept a cat in captivity until it died, she neither fed it nor gave it water to drink; nor did she set it free so that it could eat from the vermin of the earth.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

Allaah knows best.