GO WELFARECUN: New processes of fattening, transport and slaughter in rabbit farming to improve animal welfare
- Type Grupo operativo
- Status In progress
- Execution 2023 -2026
- Scope Supraautonómico
- Autonomous community Castilla y León; Galicia; Madrid, Comunidad de
- Main source of financing PEPAC 2023-2027
To find the optimum housing density that allows preserving the welfare of farm rabbits while being suitable for maintaining the economic viability of the activity; to determine the best type of flooring to ensure hygiene, health and animal welfare throughout the fattening stage of rabbits; to evaluate, design and develop different environmental enrichment methods for rabbit fattening housing to improve animal welfare and maintain rabbit hygiene; to compare the level of welfare of fattening rabbits in two types of housing (conventional or enriched) to understand the benefits and drawbacks of each; to find the optimal environmental and spatial conditions for transporting rabbits under commercial conditions (socially, environmentally and economically sustainable); to develop and implement a mixed gas stunning system that allows improving the welfare of rabbits in the slaughterhouse and in handling.
- Analysis of needs and requirements to improve rabbit production throughout the entire supply chain. The project will be planned by studying the needs and requirements of the sector and the activities carried out will be coordinated.
- Improving animal welfare through the design of new viable and innovative collective fattening facilities. This will be achieved through studies of soil types, densities and environmental enrichment.
- Improving welfare during transport from farms to slaughterhouses. Animal welfare under transport conditions will be studied, taking into account the density, posture and behaviour of rabbits.
- Improvement of peri-mortem animal welfare through the implementation of a new mixed gas stunning system in the slaughterhouse. The development and evaluation of the mixed gas stunning system on welfare and meat quality will be carried out.
Although there is no European regulation regarding welfare in rabbit farming to date, the non-legislative resolution of the European Parliament in 2017 on minimum standards for the protection of farmed rabbits (2016/2077(INI)) invites the Commission and the Member States to submit legislative proposals in a short period of time for the definition of minimum standards for the protection of rabbits on farms. In this sense, the Spanish rabbit sector believes that it is important to generate knowledge that allows this legislative proposal to be supported by scientific results. On the other hand, in the case of transport, Council Regulation (EC) No. 1/2005 of 22 December 2004 and its amendments was drafted based on the problems of northern European countries, with little information existing on transport problems in Mediterranean countries, so that in order to address future regulations in the case of rabbits, data from research is required. There are various regulations regarding animal protection and welfare in the slaughter of animals, but stunning using a mixture of gases in rabbits is not contemplated. Therefore, in order to enable its authorisation, studies must be carried out that take into account the EFSA requirements to include this system among those authorised in European Regulation 1099/2009.
The objective is to increase the sustainability of the rabbit sector's value chain by implementing new fattening, transport and slaughter processes to improve animal welfare. The project is an opportunity to make structural changes and management protocols throughout the production chain based on scientific-technical studies that demonstrate and guarantee the technical, economic and social viability of the investments that must be undertaken by the sector.
- Coordinator name: INTERCUN (INTERCUN INTERPROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATION TO PROMOTE THE RABBIT SECTOR)
- Postal address: AGUSTIN DE BETHANCOURT, 17-6th FLOOR, 28003, MADRID
- Coordinator email: gerencia@intercun.org
- Phone: 641774788
The aim of the project to increase the sustainability of the rabbit value chain is in line with the objectives of the AEI-Agri: 1) Promote an economically viable, productive and competitive livestock sector; 2) Close the gap between the scientific research offer and the needs of the livestock sectors by creating links between cutting-edge knowledge and technologies and livestock farmers and processing companies; 3) Create added value through a closer relationship between research and livestock practices and encouraging greater use of available knowledge and 4) Promote faster and more implemented practical application of innovative solutions for the rabbit farming sector. It is also part of 3 FEADER focal areas. Focal area 1B (Priority 1) by strengthening the ties between agriculture, food production and forestry, on the one hand, and research and innovation on the other. The joint collaboration of leading companies and research centres with extensive experience in the sector will allow for innovative solutions to be obtained that can be implemented throughout the national rabbit sector. In focal area 2A (Priority 2), the aim is to improve the economic performance of all the links in the production chain and to facilitate the restructuring and modernisation of farms. The search for new designs for collective fattening housing, new transport containers and new stunning technologies with the aim of improving animal welfare will allow rabbit breeders and slaughterhouses to make changes that will result in a product that is more in line with the demands of consumers and administrations. In focal area 3A (Priority 3), the aim is to improve the competitiveness of primary producers by integrating them better into the agri-food chain and collaborating with the processing and transport sector in order to create more value throughout the chain. Obtaining new collective fattening facilities with greater animal welfare would improve the situation of producers in the agri-food chain, and improvements in welfare during transport and new stunning systems will increase the quality of the meat by reducing peri-mortem stress, improving the competitiveness of primary producers in the agri-food chain.
- Organización Interprofesional para impulsar el Sector Cunícola (INTERCUN)
- GRUPO HERMI
- CONEJOS GALLEGOS COGAL S COOP
- GOMEZ Y CRESPO S. A.
- IMASDE AGROALIMENTARIA S.L.
- Organización Interprofesional para impulsar el Sector Cunícola (INTERCUN)
Related projects
