Biosecurity measures that prevent disease introduction to livestock herds provide major welfare benefits by reducing illness and the need for treatment. Investment in biosecurity is a preventive welfare strategy.
Biosecurity is preventive welfare: by keeping disease out of herds, it prevents the suffering caused by illness, treatment, and emergency culling. The welfare costs of major disease outbreaks are enormous, both for individual animals that develop clinical disease and for healthy animals culled as a disease control measure. Investment in biosecurity infrastructure and farmer education is therefore a high-leverage welfare intervention. Government support for biosecurity during trade disruptions and disease emergencies is also essential to protect both animal welfare and producer livelihoods.