A házinyulak nagyüzemi tartásának minimális állatvédelmi követelményei – a WRSA Magyar Tagozatának ajánlása

Minimum requirements of welfare for housing of rabbits on large-scale farms – recommendations of the Hungarian Branch of WRSA Author: Zsolt Szendrő Affiliation: Kaposvár University Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, 7400 Kaposvár, Guba S. street 40., Hungary The Hungarian Branch of WRSA formulated the minimum requirements of welfare for housing of rabbits in large-scale farms. These are as follows. General recommendations The farmers are obliged to keep the animals in accordance with the scientific knowledge and experience and the genotype, age, physiological status and behavioural needs. Attention needs to be paid on: provision of adequate housing system to meet the environmental requirements of the animals; provision of sufficient space, feed and water for the animals; care them according to welfare requirement; with attention to the behavioural and social needs of the animals. Any person working with the animals has to receive instructions and guidance on the relevant provisions and complete appropriate training in particular focus on welfare aspects. Animal accommodation should be designed and managed to meet species-specific needs, and can not be contrary to any of the five freedoms of the animals. The buildings have to be constructed and maintained so that the risk of fire is minimised. The materials used should be fire-resistant. Avoid causing unnecessary pain, suffering or injury of the animals. Animals and any technological equipment used in rabbit farm should be inspected at least once a day, and any malfunctions should be eliminated immediately. The cages or pens of rabbits should be designed to meet the breed, age, sex, and physiological state. The cages or pens should be constructed of durable, impervious materials and designed and continuously maintained so that they do not cause injury of animals, and the animals are free from pain and injuries whilst taken in and out of the cage. The cages or pens have to be clearly arranged, and easy to control. Floors of cages must ensure that the droppings fall out of the cage, and the animals do not contact with manure. Feeding and watering systems have to be constructed, placed, operated and maintained to meet the physiological needs of the animals; reduce feed waste, leakage or contamination of the water, each animal should have sufficient access opportunities, so avoiding competition among animals for feed or water; do not cause injury of the animals; the feed and water consumption can be controlled. Permanent access to a sufficient quantity of fresh water has to be provided. The feeders and drinking systems have to be checked daily. Before the introduction of a new stock of the rabbits, the house/cages should be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. A HÁZINYULAK NAGYÜZEMI TARTÁSÁNAK MINIMÁLIS ÁLLATVÉDELMI KÖVETELMÉNYEI ACTA AGRARIA KAPOSVÁRIENSIS 2019(23)1 2 All-in all-out management is recommended to improve rabbit health, where rabbits are produced in one batch on a 6 week (or similar) cycle allowing the rabbit building to be vacated for a short period for intensive cleaning and disinfection. Only skilled persons are permitted to work with direct contact to the rabbits. Care of the rabbits can only be carried out by a person who has adequate theoretical and practical knowledge of that breed, age group and the used management in order to be able to detect the cause of behavioural changes in the animals and their health status. If it is suspected that the animal is not healthy or the behaviour appears to change adversely, the farmer has to eliminate the cause without delay, and if necessary, call a veterinarian. If necessary, the sick or injured animal has to be separated. The farmer has to register the number of rabbits, the animal losses, the treatments, disinfection, production and stock change (selling and buying) in the record keeper in a daily basis. Keeping rabbits in buildings with continuous high noise levels would be avoided. While rabbits can be scared by sudden noise, a continuous music can have a positive effect. General rules for rabbit does, bucks, suckling and growing rabbits The air flow rate (maximum 0.4 m/sec), dust level, relative humidity (between 55 and 85%), the concentration of carbon dioxide (maximum 0.002 %Vol.) and ammonia (maximum 0.3%Vol.) should be at a level which is not harmful to rabbits. The air temperature should be between 10 °C and 28 °C. The minimum temperature for does at time of kindling is 15 °C. Rabbits are active from late afternoon till early morning; however, suitable lighting is necessary for them (minimum 30 and 10 lux for breeding does and growing rabbits, respectively), but protection against bright light should be provided for them. At least a daily continuous 8-hour dark period should be provided. Keeping rabbits in cages with solid walls without visual connection is prohibited, except bucks mainly at the time of mating and semen collection. Floors of cages and pens must be smooth but not slippery to prevent injuries of the rabbits and so designed, constructed and maintained as not to cause injuries or suffering of the animals. The dead rabbits must be removed immediately from the cage. Rabbits should have permanent access to a sufficient quantity of material, such as wood, straw, hay, or other material, which does not compromise the health of the animals, to enable proper investigation and manipulation activities and gnaw it. Gnawing sticks or other chewable materials are recommended for rabbit does, bucks and growing rabbits. Using a dual system in rabbit farms is recommended to decrease the stress at weaning. These systems are used for does with their kits, and after weaning the growing rabbits stay in the original cage and does are moved into a clean and disinfected cage before kindling. Environmental pollution of the rabbit farms have to be decreased. The minimum requirements for housing of rabbit does Future breeding female rabbits have to be housed individually after the age of 12 weeks because of the high incidence of aggressiveness, fighting and injuring. At present, all cages are accepted which are produced by large cage factories in Europe, these cages can be found in several European rabbit farms, if its floor size is minimum 38x87 cm and its height is minimum 32 cm). The minimum requirement is that the floor area allows the does to turn around easily and lie in stretched position. When using a wire-mesh floor, it is necessary to provide at least a 25×40 cm sized plastic-mesh footrest for the does for preventing the sore hocks. Elevated platforms in cages or pens of rabbit does are recommended because they give larger possibility for moving than the flat-deck cages.