Welfare charities in the UK have called on retailers to stop selling muesli-style rabbit food after a study linked it to potentially deadly dental and digestive problems.

The two-year study by the Royal School of Veterinary Studies at the University of Edinburgh confirmed a link between the food and problems such as gut stasis, which can decrease appetite for food and water.

Similar problems had been encountered in Malta by the vice president of the Malta Rabbit Club, Felix Farrugia, who noticed how rabbits encountered serious teeth problems on a diet of muesli-style food.

The UK study found rabbits fed on this diet ate less hay, which led to abnormal teeth growth and less water consumption, resulting in urinary tract problems. It is thought the findings could also apply to guinea pigs, chinchillas and degus.

The findings coincided with Rabbit Awareness Week, an annual event to highlight the health and welfare needs of Britain’s third most popular pet.

Rabbit food manufacturer Burgess Excel said it had ceased production of the muesli.

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