Who here allows your bunny to sit on your lap?

[Rabbit Tree Farm]

There is room for pets and livestock...and livestock as pets and pets as livestock. I treat all mine with equal care and love whether they're food or not. They think they're pets their whole lives. I think how you approach any of it is very individual and absolutely ok....as long as you are following widely accepted standards of care.

And i agree...they are not as fragile stresswise as they seem sometimes...with exceptions. Mine get handled when i want or need to...it isn't up to them...and they accept it as the norm. I don't baby them in that regard! But i do try to make every interaction a good one. Doesn't always work...but we try!

 

[Sagebrush]

@Rabbits by Accident I have actually made my own harness for him using old leashes from the shelter I used to volunteer for way back when. The one in the photo of Tiny was purchased at Walmart for a cat actually. He is a Himalayan and therefore a bit skinnier in the chest than most rabbits. They do make harnesses for rabbits and depending on the size of yours you can even use a small dog harness that is like a vest and not the strap kind.
Tiny has warn harnesses since he was a small kit, he has also gone with me to schools and even helped in my classes at college and is my go to for helping with the 4H kids and FFA kids here where I live as he is very laid back and used to traveling. I might still have the harness in storage.....

 

[Robochelle]

If the bunny is too small for dog and cat harnesses, look in the ferret section, I've had luck with the adjustable figure-8 style ferret harnesses for the young and small ones.

 

[hotzcatz]

There's quite a bit of difference between different rabbits. Some would be perfectly fine going out and about. I used to have a buck called "City Slicker", a blue English angora, who had a fan club at the knitting group. He'd go hang out with them every week and have a grand time being petted and fed dandelions. He had a very outgoing personality. There's more rabbits here, though, who would consider that same activity as some sort of punishment, so IMHO, it all depends on the rabbit.

Rabbits are a prey species so they're geared towards being fearful. Some just don't seem to have the same level of fear, though. So, if you have a rabbit that is calm and curious when in a strange situation, ears up and forward, then try taking them places and petting them and see how it goes. Just watch the rabbit and if it seems to be really stressed, then pick a different rabbit for excursions.

My theory on the pet/ farm animal thing is that if it has a name, you'll know who to thank for the meal. Although there's quite a few rabbits here who will never show up for dinner. But, then, dinner rabbits aren't growing more fiber so it may just be an angora thing.