Identification of Health and Welfare Parameters for Rabbit Production and Definition of an Evaluation Score

The knowledge on rabbit welfare may be improved by the use of correct tools for monitoring the different aspects of rabbit industrial farming. Therefore, the aim of this study was to define parameters related to health and welfare of animals in industrial farms with intensive husbandry. Health, management, environmental and productive parameters were firstly characterized and then a protocol to assess welfare of rabbits was define. The research was conducted on 8 industrial farms from 2004 to 2007 and around 30 inspections were done in each farm. At each visit, the health conditions were established by： （1） necropsy on animals of different productive category; （2） specific laboratory investigations based on the lesions observed; （3） checking the presence of parasites in environmental faecal samples; （4） bacteriological examination of vaginal, nasal and rectal swabs of rabbit of different age. The immune conditions and the efficacy of vaccinations were measured by determining anti-Myxomatosis and anti-Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease antibodies using competitive ELISAs, and anti-Encephalitozoon cunicoli antibodies by immunocarbonassay. The environmental conditions were evaluated by measuring air temperature, relative humidity, ammonia concentration and bacterial/fungal count. Finally the productive parameters were also recorded and elaborated. All the entered values were then utilized for defining a score system to establish health and welfare conditions.

The Chinese Dream of a More Progressive Welfare State： Progress and Challenges

＂The Chinese Dream＂ and its ideational precursors in official discourse touch upon issues of social policymaking. More specifically, official China has stated the goal of achieving a ＂moderate＂ or ＂appropriate＂ universal welfare state in order to mitigate increasing inequality and the individualization of social risk. Consequently, the new millennium witnessed a wave of social reforms in China's Mainland, the most significant of which were arguably within the policy fields of health insurance, pensions and unemployment protection. This paper reviews reform efforts within these three policy fields and discusses progress and looming challenges with the concept of universalism as the yardstick. From the perspective of universalism, the social right dimensions of coverage （the share of the population included）, generosity （benefit levels or adequacy of welfare proved for those included） and financing （such as state, contributions or private） are quintessential. Coverage of social protection has increased significantly with new schemes in all three policy fields. The hukou divide in coverage of social insurance is not as pronounced as before, especially in health insurance. However, major challenges still persist. Declining benefit generosity or adequacy has been a tendency in both pensions and unemployment protection. The pension system also faces problems of financial fragmentation and unsustainability. The health insurance system is still inadequate in terms of protection against health risks, particularly serious or chronic illnesses. These issues are more pronounced in schemes catering to rural residents or urban residents outside the labor market. This reflects that schemes for urban workers are still much more generous. In this regard, recent tentative efforts to integrate the divided welfare system should be noted.