@start-1@Xavier Manteca,sub-projectleader, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona,Spain

Members of of our project have produced two reports that take them a step closer to achieving their goal of developing practical species-specific strategies to improve animal welfare. The first report presents a compilation of ten years of data on the productive, reproductive and functional traits of a population of 20,000 sows of three different breeds kept in 20 nucleus herds, particular attention is paid to variables such as longevity, lameness and inbreeding. This will provide essential background information for subsequent studies of the same population that seek to investigate inherited genetic disorders affecting pigs and to unravel the genetic basis of @end-1@@start-2@problems such as leg weakness.
The second report presents a protocol for a behavioural test to detect tail-biting propensity in pigs. To develop this protocol researchers examined six different testing scenarios. These scenarios varied in relation to the experimental method adopted (in some tests a model tail was attached to the wall of the pen, whereas in others it was attached to a heavy solid object on the floor) and the size of the group under consideration (individuals, pairs, groups of ten). Pigs were tested for ten minutes both one week after weaning, and again three-four weeks later. The test scenario that provided the best combination of high cross-time consistency and large individual variation was selected for use in the protocol.  More @end-2@