Disease surveillance in broiler flocks is a critical welfare intervention, with early detection of infectious disease preventing the suffering and mortality associated with outbreaks.
Disease surveillance in poultry welfare is essentially preventive welfare work - identifying disease early prevents prolonged suffering in affected birds and protects the welfare of the wider flock. PM examination of dead birds provides the most sensitive early warning system; flocks where deaths are routinely examined detect disease problems far earlier than those where deaths go unexamined. Investment in veterinary disease surveillance is both economically and welfare-positive; disease outbreaks that are detected early are less severe and require less intensive treatment than those caught late. Consumer pressure for certified, veterinary-supervised production supports this surveillance infrastructure.