From the third to the fifth of November 2021, took place the 12th World Rabbit Congress in Nantes (France). This congress consisted of three days of conferences, poster sessions, oral sessions, and round tables on a lot of topics including Ethology and Welfare:

• de Greef K.H., Rommers J.M. - The Dutch route to improve commercial rabbit welfare – rather collectively than by law enforcement.
• Dutra D., Villegas-Cayllahua E., Ferrari F., Costa M., Rein A., Silva A., Moraes P., Borba H. - Cage floor enrichment contributes to physical and thermal comfort of fattening rabbits.
• Fetiveau M., Savietto D., Warin L., Pujol S., Gidenne T., Huang Y., Fortun-Lamothe L.  - Outdoor access for growing rabbits: effect of stocking rate on behaviour and performance.
• Fortun-Lamothe L., Breda J., Savietto D., Aymard P., Combes S., Gidenne T., Warin L., Huang Y.  -   Space use and exploratory behaviour in growing rabbit housed in large partitioned pens.
• Gerencsér Zs., Farkas T.P., Nagy I., Odermatt M., Radnai I., Kasza R , Matics Zs., Szendrő Zs. -  Location preference of rabbit does in a pen system combining group and individual housing.
• Guené-Grand E., Davoust C., Launay C. - A new alternative outdoor housing method (Wellap®) for fattening rabbits: first results.
• Guené-Grand E., Davoust C., Launay C. - A new alternative outdoor housing method (Wellap®) for fattening rabbits: behavior and space use.
• Huang Y., Breda J., Savietto D., Debrusse A., Combes S., Gidenne T., Warin L., Fortun-Lamothe L. -   Part-time grouping of rabbit does in enriched housing: effects on spatial position, performance and lesions.
• Huang Y., Breda J., Savietto D., Labatut D., Pujol S., Combes S., Gidenne T., Warin L., Fortun-Lamothe L.  -   Effect of housing and enrichment on behaviour and performance of growing and reproducing rabbits.
• Laclef E., Savietto D., Warin L., Huang Y., Bonnemère J.M., Combes S., Gidenne T., Fortun-Lamothe L.  -   Part-time group housing of familiar rabbit does in large partitionned space: effects on performance and behaviour.
• Pasqualin D., Zomeño C. Santagiuliana M., Dalla Costa A., Trocino A., Lavazza A., Dorigo F., Bonfanti L., Birolo M., Xiccato G., Menegon F., Di Martino G.  -  A protocol for measuring health and welfare of reproducing does and litters in rabbit farms.
• Ramón-Moragues A.. Martinez-Paredes E.. Villagrá A.  - Differences in milk production and lactation-related behaviours in breeding does housed in individual enriched cages and part-time systems.
• Rödel H.G. - Aspects of social behavior and repoduction in the wild rabbit – implications for rabbit breeding?
• Rommers J., de Greef K.  -   Are plastic mats effective for diminishing footpad lesions of rabbit does? – survey after 10 years in The Netherlands.
• Trocino A., Zomeño C., Birolo M., Pirrone F., Xiccato G.  - Effect of grouping time and group stability on behavior and aggression among rabbit does in a part-time housing system.
• Van Damme L., Delezie E., Tuyttens F. A. M., Maertens L. - Advances in part-time group housing systems for does: an overview of reproductive performances.
• Villegas-Cayllahua E., Dutra D., Cavalcanti E., Fidelis H., Montanhim G., Silva A., Moraes P., Borba H. - Assessment of stress during handling of commercial rabbits.
• Warin L., Mika A., Souchet C., Bouvarel I. - Feasibility and repeatability of the EBENE® welfare assessment measures for rabbits.

All the proceedings are available online: http://world-rabbit-science.com/WRSA-Proceedings/Congress-2021-Nantes/Nantes-2021-01.htm

In May 2021, the European Commission designated a third EU Reference Centre for animal welfare, focusing on the welfare of ruminants and equines (Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/755). The tasks of the third centre (EURCAW Ruminants & Equines) include supporting the European Commission and the Member States in the application of animal welfare requirements for ruminants and equines, carrying out scientific and technical studies, as well as conducting training courses and disseminating research findings and information on technical innovations. EURCAW Ruminants & Equines covers a range of farm animal species including those used for dairy production (cows, goats, sheep, buffaloes), the production of meat by cattle, sheep, goats, deer and horses, and ruminants and equines kept for other purposes.

EURCAW Ruminants & Equines is constituted of a consortium led by the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and the Swedish Centre for Animal Welfare (Sweden). The centre is also composed of the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (Austria), the Ellinikos Georgikos Organismos-Dimitra/Veterinary Research Institute (Greece), the National Institute for Agriculture, Food, and Environment (France), the University College Dublin (Ireland) and the Instituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Abruzzo e del Molise “G. Caporale” (Italy).

EURCAW-Pigs was the first reference centre, designated by the Commission in March 2018. This was followed by the nomination of EURCAW-Poultry-SFA in October 2019, devoted to the welfare of poultry and other small-farmed animals.