TY - JOUR
T1 - Government veterinarians' perceptions of routine biosecurity focused on dairy cattle farms in north-western and north-eastern Spain
AU - Moya, Sebastián
AU - Navea, José
AU - Casal, Jordi
AU - Ciaravino, Giovanna
AU - Yus, Eduardo
AU - Diéguez, Francisco Javier
AU - Benavides, Bibiana
AU - Tirado, Francisco
AU - Allepuz, Alberto
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2023 Moya, Navea, Casal, Ciaravino, Yus, Diéguez, Benavides, Tirado and Allepuz.
PY - 2023/2/8
Y1 - 2023/2/8
N2 - The implementation of biosecurity measures in livestock production systems can be affected by the psychosocial factors of its stakeholders, which can be observed through their knowledge, attitudes and perceptions/practices. In Spain, there are no regulations
per se to promote biosecurity. Of all stakeholders, farmers and veterinarians have been addressed in previous biosecurity studies, but not veterinarians belonging specifically to the government services. This study explores this particular group's perceptions of routine biosecurity in livestock production systems in north-western and north-eastern Spain, an understanding of which could help to improve the implementation of biosecurity measures on farms. Eleven interviews were conducted with veterinarians from different levels of the government services in Galicia and Catalonia, and were analyzed through content analysis. Dairy cattle farms were considered as the reference livestock production systems. The respondents stress the limited availability of staff and time resources for biosecurity. The advisory role of government veterinarians is not well recognized among farmers, who feel that their services prioritize their sanctioning role. In fact, government veterinarians consider that farmers only implement biosecurity measures to avoid being sanctioned, and not because they are aware of the importance of biosecurity. Meanwhile, the participants comment that biosecurity regulations should be flexible and need to consider the contexts of the farms where biosecurity measures are implemented. Finally, government veterinarians are willing to attend biosecurity meetings together with all farm stakeholders, at which the government services could be informed about biosecurity issues on farms. The person who could take on the biosecurity advisory role should be defined, along with further discussion of such matters as the responsibilities of each stakeholder. Government veterinary services need to be considered in studies of biosecurity operations in order to improve their implementation. It is therefore concluded that government veterinarians are seeking to balance their own institutional perspective with that of farmers and veterinarians in the routine implementation of biosecurity measures.
AB - The implementation of biosecurity measures in livestock production systems can be affected by the psychosocial factors of its stakeholders, which can be observed through their knowledge, attitudes and perceptions/practices. In Spain, there are no regulations
per se to promote biosecurity. Of all stakeholders, farmers and veterinarians have been addressed in previous biosecurity studies, but not veterinarians belonging specifically to the government services. This study explores this particular group's perceptions of routine biosecurity in livestock production systems in north-western and north-eastern Spain, an understanding of which could help to improve the implementation of biosecurity measures on farms. Eleven interviews were conducted with veterinarians from different levels of the government services in Galicia and Catalonia, and were analyzed through content analysis. Dairy cattle farms were considered as the reference livestock production systems. The respondents stress the limited availability of staff and time resources for biosecurity. The advisory role of government veterinarians is not well recognized among farmers, who feel that their services prioritize their sanctioning role. In fact, government veterinarians consider that farmers only implement biosecurity measures to avoid being sanctioned, and not because they are aware of the importance of biosecurity. Meanwhile, the participants comment that biosecurity regulations should be flexible and need to consider the contexts of the farms where biosecurity measures are implemented. Finally, government veterinarians are willing to attend biosecurity meetings together with all farm stakeholders, at which the government services could be informed about biosecurity issues on farms. The person who could take on the biosecurity advisory role should be defined, along with further discussion of such matters as the responsibilities of each stakeholder. Government veterinary services need to be considered in studies of biosecurity operations in order to improve their implementation. It is therefore concluded that government veterinarians are seeking to balance their own institutional perspective with that of farmers and veterinarians in the routine implementation of biosecurity measures.
KW - biosecurity
KW - content analysis
KW - dairy cattle farm
KW - government veterinarian
KW - interview
KW - perception
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85148605647&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/b85a683b-c6ab-3159-9430-c76b08c19533/
U2 - 10.3389/fvets.2023.1043966
DO - 10.3389/fvets.2023.1043966
M3 - Article
C2 - 36846258
SN - 2297-1769
VL - 10
SP - 1043966
JO - Frontiers in veterinary science
JF - Frontiers in veterinary science
M1 - 1043966
ER -