The Webishop on Depopulation methods in cases of Avian Influenza has been organized on November 6, 2025 morning. ​

The online event focused on the activity conducted by the EURCAW-Poultry-SFA on the depopulation methods used in the European Union during avian influenza outbreaks. ​

​

It was structured in two parts: ​

1. A webinar in which EURCAW-Poultry-SFA presented the key deliverables of the depopulation activity, namely an overview of the main depopulation methods used in the European Union and their ranking based on poultry welfare – following the principles of the selection guide developed to help competent authorities choose the most appropriate depopulation method according to the specific context at stake.​

2. An interactive workshop during which participants reviewed the welfare assessment protocols developed by EURCAW-Poultry-SFA for on-site depopulation operations when non-penetrative captive bolt stunning, whole-house gassing or gassing in gradually-filled containers are used. Participants provided feedback on their validity and feasibility in field conditions.​

​

A total of 103 participants from 15 EU Member States have participated. ​

​

The event aimed to help participants understand which depopulation methods should be applied from a welfare perspective depending on the specific context encountered (e.g., depending on the flock size, species at stake, or the available human and technical resources). It also aimed to gather feedback from field actors on the validity and feasibility of the welfare-assessment protocols developed, to ensure that they are usable in practice and applicable across countries despite variations in operating procedures.​

The webinar presentation is available here. 

Our recently published review in English about rabbits describes environmental enrichments in farmed rabbits. 

This review aims to provide a comprehensive synthesis of recent findings on environmental enrichment for breeding does and growing rabbits, focusing on the main categories of enrichment including social, sensory, physical, occupational and nutritional types, and their documented effects on animal welfare, integrating behavioural, physiological, and performance outcomes. 

For more information see the rabbits on-farm welfare webpage.

On 15 October 2025, the four EURCAWs organised an online meeting for the National Reference Centres (NRCs) for Animal Welfare and the National Supporting Bodies (SBs) of Competent Authorities. A total of 41 people attended the meeting. Excluding EURCAW and DG SANTE members, 23 participants from 14 EU Member States (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Estonia, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, Sweden and Slovenia) were present. The meeting aimed to facilitate mutual updates between the NRCs/SBs and the four EURCAWs, as well as promoting collaboration and knowledge exchange.

Four National Reference Centres from Italy, Finland, Belgium and France provided updates on their recent activities, including an introduction from the new Scientific Reference Centre for Animal Welfare of Farm Animals (RefWel) in Flanders.

Synergies between NRCS, SBs and EURCAWs were explored using a slido poll and this was followed by Centre-specific workshops to facilitate in-depth discussion of topical issues in animal welfare.

The topics discussed and the presentations can be found in the meeting report here. 

Our recently published factsheet in English about rabbits, describes heat stress in farmed rabbits. 

On top of direct welfare indicators that can be used to assess it, the use of resource and management-based indicators is suggested and described.

For more information see the rabbits on-farm welfare webpage.

A new 'Question to EURCAW' (Q2E) has been published on “Culling individuals”.

To see more, take a look at https://zenodo.org/records/17157586 and at our Question to EURCAW's subpage! 

Maintaining high-quality litter (meaning dry and friable) is a primary objective in the management of poultry houses, as poor-quality litter could have significant consequences on the health and welfare of birds.

The assessment of litter quality can be done through various instrumental methods requiring time for analyses and/or specific costly equipment. In contrast, visual assessment can be conducted without any instruments, is instantaneous, and easily feasible.

However, visual scoring may be considered subjective, this is why EURCAW-Poultry-SFA studied the validity, inter assessor reliability and intra-assessor repeatability of three visual scores.

In this factsheet, the most reliable score is described with a method of assessment.

For moe information, see the broiler chicken welfare page

Aarhus University in Denmark has launched a new Master’s programme in Animal Welfare Assessment. The target audience is primarily for animal welfare inspectors employed by competent authorities.

“The Master in Animal Welfare Assessment has been established to provide further education for professionals who, directly or indirectly, work with animal welfare in their daily activities. The programme originates from the EU Animal Welfare Strategy (2012-2015), which assesses animal welfare based on animal-based indicators rather than regulatory control of animal housing systems.”

The programme is offered in English. The deadline for applications is 15 November 2025.

For more: https://www.au.dk/evu/nat-tech/master/animalwelfare