WORK PROGRAMME FOR 5 TH 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”

ALTERNATIVE RABBIT PRODUCTION SYSTEMS New healthy and welfare-friendly systems to improve safety and quality of rabbit meat Over the last few decades, European’s 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.

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 systemsWelfare systems MIL (Italy)Rabbit welfare BOL (Italy)Rabbit meat quality & safetyMeat quality & safety

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.

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 General scheme

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)

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 Gut morphology and digestive function (UPM and INRA). In con and Subtask Gut colonization around weaning (CRESA). A. Gut colonization (INRA), in con B. Effect of alternative systems (CRESA) in con. WP 2 & 3. Task 1.2. Gut immune status of young rabbit. S. Boullier (ENVT) Subtask Digestive immune maturation (ENVT). A. Digestive immune maturation in con B. New rabbit immunological tools in con Subtask Strategies improving the immune maturation (ENVT) In con. WP 2, 3 & 4. Task 1.3. ERE aetiology. I. Badiola (CRESA) Subtask ERE bacterial aetiology (CRESA), in con Subtask ERE viral aetiology (ENVT).

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. WP2: Alternatives for disease prevention (ALPRE) Coordination: Milan Marounek (RIAP) Objective: Search and evaluation of potential probiotics and prebiotics in rabbits.

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 Selection of bacteria by their metabolic activities, production of bacteriocins, adhesion to mucosa and their viability (IAP). In con Subtask In vivo evaluation by challenge with E. coli (IAP). In con Task 2.2. Evaluation of potential prebiotics M. Marounek (RIAP) Subtask Effect of potential prebiotics on intestinal viscosity and intestinal microflora (RIAP). In col Subtask In vivo evaluation by challenge with E.coli (RIAP) In con

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 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.

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 Healthy management of does (UPVLC). Selection by longevity and reproductive rhythm on body condition and health. Subtask Healthy management of litters (UPADU). Relationship weaning age, immune system and stress. In con and Task 3.2. Healthy feeding systems R. Carabaño (UPM) Subtask 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 Feed intake regulation (INRA) Feeding behaviour and impact of feed restriction on health status and meat quality and safety. In con and

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. 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.

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 Alternative housing for growing rabbits (CLO). In con A. Adequate stocking density and size in pens (CLO) B. Adequate stocking density and size in enriched cages (MIL) Subtask Alternative housing for females (MIL). In con A. Stress parameters & immune system (MIL). In con 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 A

WP5: Assessment of new systems for high meat quality and safety standards. (HIGHMEAT) Coordination: 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).

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.

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,…