Diapositiva 1

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WORK PROGRAMME 2005-2006 FOR 5TH PRIORITY ON THE
6FP
Area 6 Safer and environmental friendly methods
and technologies and healthier food stuffs.
Topic 6.8. Improved rabbit production (STREP)
The objective is to ensure safer and higher
quality supply of meat, by improving rabbit
health and welfare through research on new rabbit
production systems. More welfare-friendly
production systems, such as colony-type housing
and other sustainable systems, will be used and
research will address the improvement of the
quality and safety of rabbit meat by, for
example, reducing the need for antibiotic
treatment of epizootic rabbit enterocolitis.
Results will focus on practical guidelines to
help ensure the production of a high quality
product throughout the EU, bearing in mind the
relevance of the sector in the new member states
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ALTERNATIVE RABBIT PRODUCTION SYSTEMS New healthy
and welfare-friendly systems to improve safety
and quality of rabbit meat
Over the last few decades, Europeans citizens
has became increasingly concerned about meat
safety and quality, with growing demand for meat
from animals reared under very high welfare
standards. Rabbit meat production is
characterized by high production losses mainly
due to digestive diseases (as epizootic rabbit
enteropathy -ERE), and new breeding systems with
a better disease control will improve the meat
acceptability by consumers (reducing the need of
antibiotic treatment), the competitiveness and
sustainability of this production, as well the
animal welfare. ALTERA will integrate main
European rabbit research groups with the aim of
develop new alternative rabbit production
systems, that take into account consumer demands
for high standards of animal health and welfare,
reducing the input (antibiotics, hormones), and
improving meat quality and safety, as breeding
profitability. New knowledge will be initially
generated on alternatives to the antimicrobials
for disease prevention (potential probiotics and
prebiotics), on digestive physiopathology (ERE
aetiology and digestive health), and on healthy
welfare-friendly feeding and management systems,
considering their effect on meat quality. From
the new knowledge developed, alternative breeding
systems will be proposed after their assessment,
considering the amelioration on animal health and
welfare, the improvement of rabbit meat quality
and safety and their effect on the
competitiveness of the sector. Guidelines for
healthy and welfare-friendly rabbit meat
production will be implemented to be applied for
policy proposes to ensure the quality and the
safety of rabbit meat. A variety of different
tools will be designed to reach a suitable
diffusion of the main results and milestones,
especially addressed for consumer information and
with the implication of main stakeholders. The
core of the research network is already organized
throughout a COST Action (nº848) and is able to
conduct this STREP.
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Partners (12) INRA (France) Rabbit
health ENVT (France) Rabbit immunology
Digestive pathology CRESA (Spain) ERE
aetiology ISAL (Portugal) Probiotics
evaluation IAP (Slovak) Probiotics
colonization Pre and probiotics RIAP (R.
Czech) Prebiotics UPM (Spain) Healthy
nutrition UPVLC (Spain) Healthy management
and feeding systems Healthy systems UPADU
(Italy) Welfare-friendly and healthy systems CLO
(Belgium) Housing systems Welfare systems MIL
(Italy) Rabbit welfare BOL (Italy) Rabbit meat
quality safety Meat quality safety
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Hot points Development of research on animal
health and welfare to improve meat quality and
safety - Research on health ? meat safety
(lower use of antibiotics) ? meat quality
(healthy feeding and management) - Research on
welfare ? meat quality (new systems,
pre-slaughtering) Impact on meat safety
(human health) Three phases Evaluation of
potential alternatives - good revision of the
state of the art (other projects,
literature,) - enhanced the evaluation of ? nº
of potential alternatives. Assessment of
proposed alternatives, considering meat and
competitiveness Guidelines for an adequate
production and dissemination of the results.
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General scheme
WP1 Digestive pathology and physiology
WP2 Alternatives for disease prevention
WP3 Healthy management and feeding systems
WP4 Welfare-friendly production systems
WP5 Assessment of new systems for high meat
quality and safety standards
WP6 Guidelines for a healthy and welfare-friendly
rabbit production
WP7 Dissemination of the results
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WP1 Digestive pathology and physiology
(PHYSIOPATH) Coordination Thierry Gidenne
(INRA) Objective Gut environment and digestive
health of the young rabbit ERE aetiology,
potential vaccines, advances in immunological
status and in digestive maturation.
First step (new knowledge) New knowledge
about digestive physiology and immune maturation
of the young rabbit. Well-understanding of the
gut colonization around weaning. ERE aetiology
(microorganisms implicated). Second step
Effect of new healthy and welfare-friendly
systems on immune maturation and gut colonization
(interaction with other WPs)
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WP1 Digestive pathology and physiology
(PHYSIOPATH) Coordination Thierry Gidenne
(INRA) Objective Gut environment and digestive
health of the young rabbit ERE aetiology,
potential vaccines, advances in immunological
status and in digestive maturation.
Task 1.1. Digestive physiology around weaning in
young rabbit. J. Garcia (UPM) Subtask 1.1.1. Gut
morphology and digestive function (UPM and
INRA). In con. 1.1.2. and 1.2.1. Subtask
1.1.2. Gut colonization around weaning
(CRESA). A. Gut colonization (INRA), in con.
1.1.1. B. Effect of alternative systems (CRESA)
in con. WP 2 3. Task 1.2. Gut immune status of
young rabbit. S. Boullier (ENVT) Subtask 1.2.1.
Digestive immune maturation (ENVT). A.
Digestive immune maturation in con. 1.1.1. B.
New rabbit immunological tools in con. 4.1.2.
Subtask 1.2.2. Strategies improving the immune
maturation (ENVT) In con. WP 2, 3 4. Task
1.3. ERE aetiology. I. Badiola (CRESA) Subtask
1.3.1. ERE bacterial aetiology (CRESA), in con.
2.1.1. Subtask 1.3.2. ERE viral aetiology
(ENVT).
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WP2 Alternatives for disease prevention
(ALPRE) Coordination Milan Marounek
(RIAP) Objective Search and evaluation of
potential probiotics and prebiotics in rabbits.
First step (potential alternatives)
Interaction with ERE aetiology task to define
potential probiotics. Potential prebiotics
(interaction with probiotics). Second step (in
vitro test) Selection of potential
probiotics by their colonization ability and
activities. Selection of potential prebiotics
by their effect on microflora Third
step ERE no aetiology defined in function
of results challenge test. EPEC aetiology
defined challenge test for pro and prebiotics
with E. coli.
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WP2 Alternatives for disease prevention
(ALPRE) Coordination Milan Marounek
(RIAP) Objective Search and evaluation of
potential probiotics and prebiotics in rabbits.
Task 2.1. Selection of potential probiotics
strains. A. Laukova (IAP) Subtask 2.1.1.
Selection of bacteria by their metabolic
activities, production of bacteriocins,
adhesion to mucosa and their viability
(IAP). In con. 1.3.1. Subtask 2.1.2. In vivo
evaluation by challenge with E. coli (IAP). In
con. 1.2.2. Task 2.2. Evaluation of potential
prebiotics M. Marounek (RIAP) Subtask 2.2.1.
Effect of potential prebiotics on intestinal
viscosity and intestinal microflora
(RIAP). In col. 2.1.1. Subtask 2.2.2. In vivo
evaluation by challenge with E.coli (RIAP) In
con. 1.2.2.
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WP3 Healthy management and feeding systems
(HEALTHSYS) Coordination Gerolamo Xiccato
(UPADU) Objective Development of knowledge on
alternative feeding and management systems to
improve health, considering welfare and meat
quality.
Main management factors that could affect animal
health Productive level - Genetic
selection prolificacy vs. longevity -
Reproductive rhythm Weaning age Main feeding
strategies to reduce disease incidence
Adequate weaning diets - Type of fat (Feeding
Fats Safety 6FP Project) - Protein source,
level, ADF ration, aminoacids - Feed
antigens Feeding strategies to reduce disease
incidence
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WP3 Healthy management and feeding systems
(HEALTHSYS) Coordination Gerolamo Xiccato
(UPADU) Objective Development of knowledge on
alternative feeding and management systems to
improve health, considering welfare and meat
quality.
Task 3.1. Healthy management systems considering
animal welfare . C. Cervera (UPV) Subtask 3.1.1.
Healthy management of does (UPVLC). Selection by
longevity and reproductive rhythm on body
condition and health. Subtask 3.1.2. Healthy
management of litters (UPADU). Relationship
weaning age, immune system and stress. In con.
1.1.2 and 1.2.2. Task 3.2. Healthy feeding
systems R. Carabaño (UPM) Subtask 3.2.1. New
knowledge on weaning diets (UPVLC). A. Protein
level glutamine-arginine supplementation
(UPM) B. Dietary antigens and gut health
(UPVLC) C. Digestible fibre ratio with ADF and
CP (UPADU) Subtask 3.2.1. Feed intake regulation
(INRA) Feeding behaviour and impact of feed
restriction on health status and meat quality
and safety. In con. 1.1.2. and 1.2.2.
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WP4 Welfare-friendly production systems
(WELSYS) Coordination Marina Verga
(MIL) Objective Development of welfare-friendly
rearing systems and low stressing transport and
slaughter protocols, considering their effects
on health meat quality.
Adequate welfare-friendly systems considering
animal welfare and health Litters Adequate
stocking density, size and floor in pens and
enriched cages Females Adequate management
systems for colony and enriched cages Adequate
pre-slaughter conditions considering animal
welfare and meat quality.
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WP4 Welfare-friendly production systems
(WELSYS) Coordination Marina Verga
(MIL) Objective Development of welfare-friendly
rearing systems and low stressing transport and
slaughter protocols, considering their effects
on health meat quality.
Task 4.1. Alternative housing and management
systems M. Verga (MIL) Subtask 4.1.1.
Alternative housing for growing rabbits (CLO).
In con. 4.1.2. A. Adequate stocking density
and size in pens (CLO) B. Adequate stocking
density and size in enriched cages (MIL) Subtask
4.1.2. Alternative housing for females (MIL).
In con. 1.2.2. A. Stress parameters immune
system (MIL). In con. 1.2.1.B B. Adequate
logging of does in colony cages (MIL) C.
Enrichment and handling (MIL) Task 4.2. Transport
and pre-slaughter conditions C. Cavani
(BOL) Effect of transport and pre-slaughter
conditions on welfare and meat quality. In con.
4.1.2.A
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WP5 Assessment of new systems for high meat
quality and safety standards. (HIGHMEAT) Coordinat
ion Luc Maertens (CLO) Objective Assessment of
the proposed models to ensure high quality
product (meat quality and safety) by the
improvement of the animal health and welfare,
considering their effect in the competitiveness.
Task 5.1. Oral immune-stimulation to control
intestinal colonisation of pathogenic gut
bacteria Ignacio Badiola (CReSA) Feeding models
to reduce antibiotic treatments, including oral
immune- stimulation (toxoids, vaccines), In
collaboration with UPM and UPV. Task 5.2. Feeding
strategies for health promotion Luisa Falçao
(ISAL) Feeding models to reduce antibiotic
treatments, including pro and prebiotics,
weaning diets, oral immune-stimulation
(vaccines), In collaboration with IAP, RIAP,
UPM, CRESA and ENVT. Task 5.3. Feasibility and
competitiveness of the alternative healthy
systems Laurence Fortun (INRA) Conceptual
model of the "female breeding unit. In
collaboration with UPVLC. Task 5.4. Housing
strategies for welfare and meat quality
enhancementG. Xiccato (UPADU) Effect of proposed
housing systems on welfare, health,
competitiveness and meat quality and safety (in
collaboration with BOL).
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WP6 Guidelines for a healthy and
welfare-friendly rabbit production. Coordination
J.J. Pascual Partners All the
partners. Objective Practical guidelines to be
applied for policy propose to ensure the quality
and safety of rabbit meat. Support letters from
invited stakeholders. Task 6.1. Disease
prevention and hygiene recommendations
Partners INRA, CRESA, ENVT, ISAL, IAP, RIAP,
UPM and UPVLC. Invited EU associations of
breeders, veterinaries inter-professionals. Task
6.2. Health and welfare-friendly recommendations
for a high quality product Partners UPADU, UPM,
UPVLC, INRA, CRESA, ENVT, MIL and CLO. Invited
EU associations of feeding, breeders consumers,
and cages enterp. Task 6.3. Transport and
pre-slaughter recommendations Partners UNIBO,
MIL, UPADU and CLO. Invited European
associations of inter-professionals, breeders
consumers.
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WP7 Dissemination of the results Coordination
Pascual Partners All the partners. Objective
Design a variety of different tools to reach a
suitable communication of the main results and
milestones to the different interested groups,
especially for consumer information -
Scientific community articles, communications,
web page, - Breeders Associations congress,
informative meetings, web page, - Consumer
Actions throughout inter-professionals, web page,