Abstract
Simple SummaryAnimal welfare assessment protocols allow one to understand the level of welfare and to identify the main parameters to improve on farms. Accordingly, farmers have the possibility to use these tools for implementing corrective measures to improve animal welfare. This study was performed through the application of an animal welfare assessment protocol for growing-rabbits in 32 farms from Spain and Portugal. The scores obtained ranged from 44 to 82 points out of 100, depending on the farm, showing a good discriminative capacity among the 32 farms assessed. However, some key points for improving were identified in most of the farms. These points were to provide more space for the animals, improve the protocols for emergency killing due to health problems or any other cause, and to provide the farmers proper training in animal welfare.The objective of the present study is to present an animal welfare assessment protocol for growing-rabbits for discussion after its implementation in 32 farms from Spain and Portugal. The protocol comprises the principles of Good Feeding, Good Housing, Good Health and Appropriate Behaviour of the Welfare Quality protocols and includes 36 welfare parameters. Overall, the protocol showed a good capacity for discrimination between farms, with scores ranging 44 to 82 points. The protocol seems reliable for the assessment of animal welfare after proper training of auditors. However, for the criteria social behaviour and other behaviours, further research is needed to ascertain if the methodology and times of observation used are appropriate. Some farms had high mortality rates with a low prevalence of health problems, while others had low mortality rates with high prevalence of health problems due to different managements of culling. The protocol should be improved, to impede farms with high mortality rates but a low prevalence of health issues the day of the audit from obtaining better scores than the second type of farms, by limiting the compensation in key measures. The main points to be solved in the growing-rabbit farms were: to provide more space to the animals; register the number of animals culled accurately; change cervical dislocation for another killing method and provide the farmers training in animal welfare.
Highlights
In order to understand the concept of animal welfare, the OIE (World Organisation for AnimalHealth) states that a good level of welfare exists when the animal is healthy, comfortable, well-nourished, Animals 2020, 10, 1415; doi:10.3390/ani10081415 www.mdpi.com/journal/animalsAnimals 2020, 10, 1415 safe and capable of expressing innate behaviour without suffering, pain, fear or anguish
The consumption of meat from rabbits has reduced in Spain and Portugal in the last few years, and one of the causes could be the way that citizens see this production system
The Good Feeding principle is assessed by means of the combination of two criteria: absence of prolonged hunger (65% of the total score) and absence of prolonged thirst (35% of the total score; Table 2)
Summary
In order to understand the concept of animal welfare, the OIE (World Organisation for AnimalHealth) states that a good level of welfare exists when the animal is healthy, comfortable, well-nourished, Animals 2020, 10, 1415; doi:10.3390/ani10081415 www.mdpi.com/journal/animalsAnimals 2020, 10, 1415 safe and capable of expressing innate behaviour without suffering, pain, fear or anguish. In order to understand the concept of animal welfare, the OIE In the last few decades, animal welfare has been a growing concern for society. On the other hand, according to the FAOSTAT (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations data), from 2008 to 2018, the number of rabbits reared in the world for production increased by 9.78% [2]. Due to the increasing demands for better production systems of the internal markets and the increased competition when accessing external markets, producers are more and more motivated in considering animal welfare as a key factor in their production systems
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