Farm Animals

Cattle Biosecurity Disease Prevention Welfare

Farm biosecurity prevents introduction of serious diseases that cause welfare suffering and require mass culling, with biosecurity investment providing welfare and financial returns.

Key Facts

Foot and Mouth Disease spread in 2001 caused slaughter of over 6 million UK animals
FMDV persists on clothing, vehicles, and equipment making farm-level biosecurity critical
Bovine TB biosecurity reduces cattle exposure to infected badgers and reactor cattle
New disease introductions including novel coronaviruses represent emerging biosecurity threats
Biosecurity audits identify high-risk practices and guide practical improvement

Welfare Considerations

Disease introductions cause enormous welfare suffering through both disease and emergency culling. Biosecurity investment prevents welfare disasters with high benefit relative to cost.

What You Can Do

Implement and maintain farm biosecurity protocols for visitors and vehicles
Support national disease control programmes through compliance and monitoring
Work with your vet on a tailored farm biosecurity assessment and improvement plan
Advocate for strong border biosecurity measures to prevent exotic disease incursion