EN
Intestines and livers of 167 slaughter rabbits from south-eastern Poland were investigated in 2007. 124 rabbits (slaughtered at three different times) came from small farms and 43 from an industrial rabbit farm. Protozoon from genus Eimeria was recognized in 160 rabbits (94.80%), but only in some of them gross pathological lesions in the intestines or liver were found. Intestinal coccidia were found, depending on the group, in 86-96% of rabbits while liver coccidia in 25-60%. The total number of 9 species of Eimeria spp. were found. Among intestinal coccidia the most prevalent were E. piriformis, E. media, E. perforans, E. intestinalis, E. magna; also common were Eimeria stiedai (located in the liver). The extensiveness of invasion by individual species was different for the investigated groups. The intensity of invasion was the lowest in rabbits from the industrial farm, which suggested that prophylactic procedures had been in place. The analysis of Veterinary Inspection reports (RRW-6) showed that during the last 10 years rabbit coccidiosis has been responsible for a great part of lesions diagnosed in slaughter houses, however it has rarely caused rabbit carcasses to be declared unfit for human consumption.