Development of a Training Strategy Aimed at Increasing Veterinarians' Awareness of the Proper Use of Antibiotics on Rabbit Farms.

The rabbit sector faces significant challenges with antimicrobial usage (AMU) and antimicrobial resistance (AMR). A focus group involving nine rabbit sector stakeholders identified key issues contributing to high AMU and the need for veterinarians' training. Participants emphasized the lack of clear legislation, biosecurity standards, and the importance of training on best practices to reduce AMU.

Insects and Public Health: An Overview.

Insects are, by far, the most common animals on our planet. The ubiquity and plethora of ecological niches occupied by insects, along with the strict and sometimes forced coexistence between insects and humans, make insects a target of public health interest. This article reports the negative aspects historically linked to insects as pests and vectors of diseases, and describes their potential as bioindicators of environmental pollution, and their use as food and feed.

A pilot study about on-farm assessment of health and welfare in rabbits kept in different housing systems.

This pilot study tested an on-farm protocol based on resource, management, and animal-based measures to evaluate the on-farm health and welfare of rabbits kept in four different housing systems. In detail, the four housing systems were (1) standard breeding cages for reproducing does (3,300 cm) with their litters associated with bicellular cages for growing rabbits (1,200 cm); (2) dual-purpose cages for both reproducing does and growing rabbits (3,655 cm); (3) enriched cages (4,739 cm) for both reproducing does and growing rabbits equipped with a wire-mesh elevated platform (1,015 cm); (4) parks (30,977 cm) made up of four modules (7,744 cm each) joined by removing the wire net walls between them with growing rabbits kept in collective parks and reproducing does individually in the single modules. A total of 12 commercial farms (three farms/four housing systems) were visited during three seasons (summer, autumn, and winter) on two occasions each: (1) a pre-weaning visit for recordings on reproducing does and litters and (2) a pre-slaughtering visit for recordings on growing rabbits.

Purchasing Habits, Sustainability Perceptions, and Welfare Concerns of Italian Consumers Regarding Rabbit Meat.

Several factors drive consumer behavior in buying meat, particularly rabbit meat. The consumption of rabbits has decreased in Europe, and the main causes of this trend are an increasing association with the perception of rabbits as pets, consumers' changes in lifestyle, and eating habits. Additionally, increasing attention is paid to ethical issues regarding animal welfare.

Antibiotic Use in Alpine Dairy Farms and Its Relation to Biosecurity and Animal Welfare.

The quantification of antimicrobial usage (AMU) in food-producing animals can help identify AMU risk factors, thereby enhancing appropriate stewardship policies and strategies for a more rational use. AMU in a sample of 34 farms in the Province of Trento (north-eastern Italy) from 2018 to 2020 was expressed as defined daily doses for animals per population correction unit according to European Surveillance of Veterinary Antimicrobial Consumption guidelines (DDDvet) and according to Italian guidelines (DDDAit). A retrospective analysis was carried out to test the effects of several husbandry practices on AMU.

The Economics of Rabbit Farming: A Pilot Study on the Impact of Different Housing Systems.

This research evaluates the economic sustainability of rabbit farms using different housing systems-bicellular (BI), conventional dual-purpose (DP) and enriched cages designed according to the World Rabbit Science Association guidelines (WRSA)-through a field-based study involving six farms over the course of five years. The cages were compared based on three productivity indices expressed in kg of produced live weight/m and on eight cost indices expressed in EUR/kg of produced live weight. The results showed that WRSA significantly reduced the productivity index per walkable cage area in buildings and cages, thanks to the longer platform area included in the cage compared to the other systems.

Short-term and long-term effects of antimicrobial use on antimicrobial resistance in broiler and turkey farms.

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTSSulfamethoxazole and ampicillin resistance are the highest in isolates of both broilers and turkeys.Short-term effects of antibiotic use on resistance are seen more often than long-term effects.Historical penicillin use is associated with penicillin resistance in broilers.

Antimicrobial Use in Broilers Reared at Different Stocking Densities: A Retrospective Study.

According to the Directive 2007/43/EC, broiler farms can house animals up to 39 kg/m, provided that specific environmental requirements are met. However, limited information is available about the effects of stocking density (SD) on broiler health and welfare, including the need for antimicrobial use. In this study, annual data on mortality, feed conversion rate, and antimicrobial use (AMU) are compared between broiler farms with stocking densities of 39 kg/m (N = 257) and 33 kg/m (N = 87).

Molecular epidemiology of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus from dairy farms in North-eastern Italy.

Transmission of Staphylococcus aureus along the dairy production chain is an emerging public health problem with human, veterinary, and food safety issues. The prevalence of multidrug-resistant, particularly methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), has steadily increased in several European countries.

Identification of two divergent swine Noroviruses detected at the slaughterhouse in North East Italy.

Norovirus (NoV) has emerged as one of the major causative agents of non-bacterial, food- and water-borne gastroenteritis in humans, with the main genogroup involved in human outbreaks (GII), which has been detected worldwide in different animal species including swine. A four-month investigation at the slaughterhouse aiming to examine the presence of NoV in the swine in North-Eastern Italy, enabled the detection of two divergent Noroviruses (NoVs) (GII.P11) in two swine farms.

Antimicrobial use on Italian Pig Farms and its Relationship with Husbandry Practices.

The analysis of antimicrobial use (AMU) data in livestock allows for the identification of risk factors for AMU, thereby favoring the application of responsible AMU policies on-farm. Herewith, AMU in 36 finishing pig farms in northern Italy from 2015-2017 was expressed as defined daily doses for Italian pigs (DDDita) per population correction unit (DDDita/100kg). A retrospective analysis was then conducted to determine the effects of several husbandry practices on AMU.

Natural immunity in conventionally and organically reared turkeys and its relation with antimicrobial resistance.

Suboptimal animal welfare may affect natural immunity, rendering animals more susceptible to environmentally conditioned diseases, including those requiring antimicrobial treatment, which may promote antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in bacterial populations. Herewith, we tested the hypothesis that conventionally raised turkeys have higher levels of AMR in indicator Escherichia coli bacteria, but lower levels of natural immunity, as compared to turkeys reared under organic conditions. Litter and serum samples were collected from 28 conventional and 4 organic turkey farms: E.

Positive Reinforcement-Based Training for Self-Loading of Meat Horses Reduces Loading Time and Stress-Related Behavior.

The present work aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a self-loading training using positive reinforcement on stress-related behaviors shown by meat horses during loading procedures into a truck. Thirty-two meat horses ( = 18; = 14; 6 month-old) were included in the study. All horses had limited interactions with the farmer and were not used to be restrained nor lead by halter.

Trends and correlates of antimicrobial use in broiler and turkey farms: a poultry company registry-based study in Italy.

Background: Antimicrobial usage (AMU) in livestock plays a key role in the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance. Analysis of AMU data in livestock is therefore relevant for both animal and public health.

Objectives: To assess AMU in 470 broiler and 252 turkey farms of one of Italy's largest poultry companies, accounting for around 30% of national poultry production, to identify trends and risk factors for AMU.

Impact of pre-slaughter transport conditions on stress response, carcass traits, and meat quality in growing rabbits.

In growing rabbits (n = 320; 84 d of age), an increase in the journey duration to the slaughterhouse from 1 h to 3 h under mild climatic conditions (10-13 °C; 75-90% relative humidity) affected several stress indicators in the plasma and muscle collected at slaughter (cortisol; corticosterone; lactate dehydrogenase, LDH; lactate; heat shock protein 70 kDa, HSP70; osmolality, and Na) (0.001 < P < .05), reduced muscle L*, b* (P < .

The effect of crate height on the behavior of female turkeys during commercial pre-slaughter transportation.

Limited information is available on suitable height of transport crates for turkeys. We compared behaviors and physiological indicators of four groups of 10 female turkeys each confined in either conventional (38.5 cm height) or experimental (77 cm height) crates during six commercial pre-slaughter transportations for 86 km (76 ± 4 min) along two tracts with one-lane streets, crossroads, bends, roundabouts (S1 and S2) and a highway tract (H) between S1 and S2.

Circulation of multiple genotypes of H1N2 viruses in a swine farm in Italy over a two-month period.

In August 2012 repeated respiratory outbreaks caused by swine influenza A virus (swIAV) were registered for a whole year in a breeding farm in northeast Italy that supplied piglets for fattening. The virus, initially characterized in the farm, was a reassortant Eurasian avian-like H1N1 (H1N1) genotype, containing a haemagglutinin segment derived from the pandemic H1N1 (A(H1N1)pdm09) lineage. To control infection, a vaccination program using vaccines against the A(H1N1)pdm09, human-like H1N2 (H1N2), human-like H3N2 (H3N2), and H1N1 viruses was implemented in sows in November 2013.

The degree of acceptability of swine blood values at increasing levels of hemolysis evaluated through visual inspection versus automated quantification.

The pronounced fragility that characterizes swine erythrocytes is likely to produce a variable degree of hemolysis during blood sampling, and the free hemoglobin may then unpredictably bias the quantification of several analytes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the degree of acceptability of values obtained for several biochemical parameters at different levels of hemolysis. Progressively increased degrees of physical hemolysis were induced in 3 aliquots of 30 nonhemolytic sera, and the relative effects on the test results were assessed.

Continuous straw provision reduces prevalence of oesophago-gastric ulcer in pigs slaughtered at 170 kg (heavy pigs).

Adopting a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design, this study evaluated whether continuous straw provision by racks, tail docking and gender (barrows vs. females) have an effect on the prevalence of lung lesions and oesophago-gastric ulcer (OGU) visually scored at slaughter in 635 Italian heavy pigs (169 ± 4 kg). The lung lesions were very low (72% of pigs with score 0), and were not significantly different among the experimental groups.

Tail docking and the rearing of heavy pigs: the role played by gender and the presence of straw in the control of tail biting. Blood parameters, behaviour and skin lesions.

This study evaluated whether the specific heavy pig rearing context allowed the fattening of undocked pigs without an outbreak of tail biting. At the same time, gender and straw availability (small amounts) were considered to understand their possible interactions with tail presence in the display of tail biting. A 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design was adopted to test the effects of these factors on blood parameters, behaviour and tail/ear lesions.