Broken biosecurity? Veterinarians’ framing of biosecurity on dairy farms in England

Shortall, Orla; Ruston, A.; Green, Martin J.; Brennan, Marnie L.; Wapenaar, Wendela; Kaler, Jasmeet

doi:10.1016/j.prevetmed.2016.06.001

Cited by 73 publications

(67 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…It is apparent that some dairy cattle farmers may be making judgements about whether preventive practices are worth undertaking based on their own individual risk assessment which is likely to be informed by previous experience and tacit knowledge, which has been reported in a recent study [33]. It has been shown that risk can mean different things to different people, with experts and lay people contrasting in their perception of risk of the same activity [47].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One of the most frequently applied models used within the health psychology field is the Theory of Planned Behaviour [33]. The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) aims to determine the association between attitudes, beliefs, intentions and the perceived behavioural control an individual feels they have over a particular behaviour, as well as how these perceptions predict actual behaviour; Figure 1 [20,33].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Exploring Attitudes and Beliefs towards Implementing Cattle Disease Prevention and Control Measures: A Qualitative Study with Dairy Farmers in Great Britain

Brennan

Wright

Wapenaar

et al. 2016

Animals

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Simple SummaryFurther understanding of why dairy farmers do not engage in disease prevention and control strategies (biosecurity) is required. Using semi-structured interviews informed by a health psychology approach with 25 dairy farmers, a number of barriers, such as disease testing inaccuracies, types of disease transmission, perceived lack of risk and effectiveness of measures, were identified. Motivators included being advised to undertake measures by veterinarians, and the increased threat and severity of the disease in focus. These results suggest there is an advantage to farm advisors and herd health professionals understanding and working with the beliefs of individual dairy farmers to target appropriate communication and advice strategies relating to biosecurity recommendations.AbstractDisease prevention and control practices are frequently highlighted as important to ensure the health and welfare of farmed animals, although little is known as to why not many practices are carried out. The aim of this study was to identify the motivators and barriers of dairy cattle farmers towards the use of biosecurity measures on dairy farms using a health psychology approach. Twenty-five farmers on 24 farms in Great Britain (GB) were interviewed using the Theory of Planned Behaviour framework. Results indicated that farmers perceived they had the ability to control what happened on their farms in terms of preventing and controlling disease, and described benefits from being proactive and vigilant. However, barriers were cited in relation to testing inaccuracies, effectiveness and time-efficiency of practices, and disease transmission route (e.g., airborne transmission). Farmers reported they were positively influenced by veterinarians and negatively influenced by the government (Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA)) and the general public. Decisions to implement practices were influenced by the perceived severity of the disease in question, if disease was diagnosed on the farm already, or was occurring on other farms. Farmers described undertaking a form of personal risk assessment when deciding if practices were worth doing, which did not always involve building in disease specific factors or opinions from veterinarians or other advisors. These results indicate that further guidance about the intricacies of control and prevention principles in relation to specific animal diseases may be required, with an obvious role for veterinarians. There appears to be an opportunity for farm advisors and herd health professionals to further understand farmer beliefs behind certain attitudes and target communication and advice accordingly to further enhance dairy cattle health and welfare.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring Attitudes and Beliefs towards Implementing Cattle Disease Prevention and Control Measures: A Qualitative Study with Dairy Farmers in Great Britain

Brennan

Wright

Wapenaar

et al. 2016

Animals

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“…Vets express frustration that they cannot interact with farmers enough to improve biosecurity, farmers do not take their advice, and biosecurity should be a greater priority for the dairy sector (Shortall et al . ). Vets can have different roles within government, industry and private practice (Escobar and Demeritt ); this article focuses on the vet‐farmer relationship within private practice.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…), recent research has identified the importance of the cultural meanings farmers bring to biosecurity practices (Shortall et al . ). Despite research suggesting low levels of uptake of biosecurity measures (Brennan and Christley ), previous social science research has shown that taking care of animals’ health and welfare is seen as a key part of good farming identity (Gray ; Burton ; Wilkie ; Haggerty et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

True Cowmen and Commercial Farmers: Exploring Vets’ and Dairy Farmers’ Contrasting Views of ‘Good Farming’ in Relation to Biosecurity

et al. 2018

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Responsibility for biosecurity in UK farming is being devolved from government to industry, with a greater emphasis on the veterinarian (vet)‐farmer relationship. Although social science has shown that care for animals is part of ‘good farming’, the British dairy sector sees a need to improve biosecurity. This research uses the good farmer concept to compare how vets and dairy farmers define good farming for biosecurity based on qualitative interviews with 28 vets and 15 dairy farmers in England. The results revealed two conflicting ‘good farmer’ identities: the large, commercial farmer who has the economic capital to invest in biosecurity and veterinary services; and the self‐sufficient stock keeper whose cultural and social capital lead them to manage herd health independently. These identities reflect changing ‘rules of the game’, following Bourdieu's use of the term, and increasing penetration of vets’ cultural capital into the sector. They involve different constructions of risk which need to be recognised within debates about good biosecurity.

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“…Training was recommended to be provided by veterinary surgeons and face-to-face was the preferred format. Moreover, training should be tailor-made to cover the audience needs as highlighted in a recent UK study on veterinary practitioners specialised in dairy cattle [14]. Therefore the veterinary profession needs to be more involved in on farm biosecurity training.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Key actors in driving behavioural change in relation to on-farm biosecurity; a Northern Ireland perspective

Lahuerta‐Marin

Finney

O’Hagan³

et al. 2018

Ir Vet J

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BackgroundAgriculture and farming are valued contributors to local economy in Northern Ireland (NI). There is limited knowledge about farmers’ behaviours and attitudes towards disease biosecurity measures. As part of a larger project, a scenario-based workshop with key stakeholders was organised by the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI)-NI in December 2015.ResultsA total of 22 participants belonging to 12 different institutions took part in the workshop. Participants were presented with an overview of previously conducted biosecurity research in NI and England. In small groups, participants were subsequently asked to discuss and give their opinions about a series of questions across four key areas in a semi-structured approach with an external facilitator. The key areas were 1- disease risk perception at the farm level; 2-perceived barriers to implementing on farm biosecurity measures; 3- avenues to successful behaviour change and 4-key industry responsibilities and roles. The discussion showed that training in biosecurity for farmers is important and necessary. Training was recommended to be provided by veterinary surgeons, preferably via a face-to-face format. The discussion addressing disease disclosure proved particularly challenging between those who were prospective buyers of cattle, and those who sold cattle.ConclusionsThis workshop provided a unique and invaluable insight into key issues regarding farm level biosecurity activities. From a policy perspective, delivering improved on-farm biosecurity must be addressed via a multidisciplinary approach. This can only be achieved with active involvement, commitment and support of a number of key industry and government stakeholders.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13620-018-0125-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Broken biosecurity? Veterinarians’ framing of biosecurity on dairy farms in England

Abstract: 11There is seen to be a need for better biosecurity -the control of disease spread on and off

Cited by 73 publications

References 62 publications

Exploring Attitudes and Beliefs towards Implementing Cattle Disease Prevention and Control Measures: A Qualitative Study with Dairy Farmers in Great Britain

Exploring Attitudes and Beliefs towards Implementing Cattle Disease Prevention and Control Measures: A Qualitative Study with Dairy Farmers in Great Britain

True Cowmen and Commercial Farmers: Exploring Vets’ and Dairy Farmers’ Contrasting Views of ‘Good Farming’ in Relation to Biosecurity

Key actors in driving behavioural change in relation to on-farm biosecurity; a Northern Ireland perspective

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