ABOUT
Description of the Action
Biosecurity is of paramount importance to prevent the introduction and spread of pathogens and, consequently, to preserve the health of farmed animals. Healthier animals result in better animal welfare, better sustainability of animal production systems and less antimicrobial use. Despite these benefits, biosecurity is limited by different factors:
- lack of knowledge on ways for improvement, especially in extensive systems or settings with low resources;
- shortage of adequate ways to enhance communication;
- diversity of methodologies to assess and measure the implementation of biosecurity measures and their cost-effectiveness and
- a low number of trained professionals.
To approach these challenges, the Action will evaluate how biosecurity is currently used and will use participative approaches to understand motivators and barriers for biosecurity implementation. Knowledge generated through them will act as the baseline upon which to develop adequate communication and training on biosecurity.
The Action will also perform a comparison of existing methods used to evaluate biosecurity. Exploiting these tools will promote the development of tailored options in farms based on the evaluation of their risks, on the feasibility of selected biosecurity measures and on their economic benefits. Moreover, the Action will identify training needs through the evaluation of existing training materials and will develop new courses, increasing therefore the number of trained professionals.
Finally, the Action will recommend priority research areas for future biosecurity improvement in animal production systems. The Action objectives will be achieved through a transdisciplinary group where Early Career Investigators will play a key role in their attainment.
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Objectives
The overall aim of the Action is to reduce the risk of infectious disease introduction and spread by improving the implementation of biosecurity measures in animal production systems.
Research Coordination
- To map the implementation of biosecurity measures in animal production systems and in animal transport, and to inventory the current training and existing research projects in biosecurity in Europe and neighbouring countries (WG1 and WG4).
- To identify biosecurity measures that could be realistically implemented in extensive animal production systems (including transhumant) and settings with low resources such as backyard production in a costeffective and sustainable manner (WG1).
- To identify the main knowledge gaps in biosecurity in the different cattle, pig and poultry production systems in Europe and the ways for improvement (WG1).
- To identify the factors – barriers and motivators - influencing decision making in the process of implementing biosecurity measures (WG2).
- To understand the perceptions, attitudes and demands of general public on biosecurity in relation to their expectations of livestock production as well as their knowledge about disease spread and the role that they can have (WG2).
- To provide guidelines and good practices for innovative evidence-based communication strategies for reducing knowledge gaps, increase positive attitudes and confidence of stakeholders in relation to adopting biosecurity measures (WG2 and WG4).
- To evaluate the existing methods for quantification of biosecurity and/or the risk of disease introduction together with the economic and health benefits of the implementation of biosecurity measures (WG3).
- To evaluate the effectiveness of the different existing biosecurity improvement programs (WG3).
Capacity Building
- To create a sustainable network for the promotion of research, education and application of biosecurity measures in European countries (All WGs).
- To improve the communication and information sources related to biosecurity aimed at veterinarians, farm advisors, farmers’ associations and official authorities (All WGs).
- To strengthen the links between different stakeholders and funding agencies within and outside Europe to promote research and education on biosecurity (All WGs).
- To disseminate the knowledge generated in the Action through the creation of a European Biosecurity Portal (WG4).
- To organize workshops and training schools on biosecurity (WG4).
ABOUT
Background
Nowadays, health and welfare, safety and sustainability are crucial elements for ensuring the future of livestock production. Biosecurity aims to prevent the introduction and spread of pathogens within and between farms and, consequently, results in better welfare, increased food safety and better sustainability. In addition, biosecurity measures act as a barrier against the periodic emergence of transboundary diseases.
The present Action is supported by the growing interest for biosecurity but also based on the increased number of research projects on these aspects. Although there is an increasing number of groups working on different aspects related to biosecurity, their level of collaboration and networking is relatively low and, therefore, a better communication and coordination mechanism is needed between the different groups in order to give a common voice to those in the field (i.e., farmers, veterinarians, traders, decision makers and the general population).
