The devil is in the detail: Why Europe needs a comprehensive livestock strategy

Europe has successfully controlled many livestock diseases over the years, yet the threat of animal diseases is never truly over. In 2023, the continent saw an outbreak of bluetongue virus that cost the Netherlands alone an estimated €200 million. Earlier this year, Germany experienced its first foot and mouth outbreak in more than three decades, resulting in bans on German meat and dairy exports, writes Pierre Sultana, public affairs director of AnimalhealthEurope, Europe’s animal health association.

What these recent outbreaks have underscored is the perennial threat of animal disease to the security of food, health, and economic systems across the continent. They cause massive losses to livestock farmers, present risks to human health, and damage food availability. Perhaps most importantly, the danger of these diseases is predicted to grow. Take bluetongue virus, for instance. The disease is endemic to the tropics but began to migrate to Europe in the 1990s and moved further north in the last decade as a result of rising temperatures, allowing for a virus adapted to warm climates to thrive across Europe.

Furthermore, the shorter, milder winters that the continent has been experiencing has allowed for longer transmission periods for the virus. These types of changes are likely to be seen in other livestock diseases as well. Given these conditions, improving animal health is integral to ensuring a healthy, sustainable future for the livestock sector and for all Europeans. As consultations continue on the EU Animal Health Law and work starts on a Sustainable Livestock Strategy, concrete measures to improve animal health should be at the centre. This first means bringing the animal health sector to the table by allowing a regular and constructive dialogue with veterinary authorities.

As it currently stands, the sector is underutilised as a tool for greater sustainability. Strategies largely consist of shared principles and approaches, but they lack the solid measures needed. This marks a huge blind spot in the potential strategy. Animal health experts can offer these actionable measures to improve animal health that will ultimately benefit all of Europe. For example, investing in preventative tools allows governments to curb risks before they become full crises. This includes improving vaccinations, advancing disease surveillance and early warning systems, and implementing biosecurity upgrades and farm-level prevention practices. Disease prevention is critical for reducing the livestock sector’s emissions because fewer losses means fewer wasted resources and fewer additional resources needed to make up the difference.

It also responds to societal concerns about the culling of animals and the spending of public money to compensate farmers for these losses. And reducing disease levels also helps address concerns around antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which threatens the health of people and animals across the continent. AMR occurs when microorganisms no longer respond to antimicrobial treatments. While this can happen naturally, it is accelerated by the improper use of antimicrobial medicines in human and veterinary medicine. Thankfully, antimicrobial use in animals dropped 53 per cent in the EU since 2011. This decrease has largely occurred due to the dramatically increased use of prevention products that reduce the need for antibiotics in the first place. Furthermore, supporting improved breeding can help reduce the sector’s climate impact.

This includes genomic testing to support farmers in making informed decisions on breed selection for traits such as disease resistance, reduced emissions, and climate adaptation. In New Zealand, for example, the government has been working with researchers to breed high-productivity, low-methane ruminants like sheep, which have produced 12 per cent lower methane emissions than traditional breeds. With more than 220 million ruminants in Europe, including innovative breeding approaches such as these in the Sustainable Livestock Strategy can make a big impact on the continent’s emissions.

Disease prevention and breeding strategies go a long way to improving the sustainability of livestock farming from an environmental perspective, but they are also central to improving animal welfare and farm economics. For example, new technologies such as sensors used to detect rumination of cows can detect disease as much as five days before clinical signs of the disease. Meanwhile, calving prediction technologies give alerts from six to 12 hours in advance of calving, reducing calf mortality, and automatic feeding machines can read parameters used to detect bovine respiratory disease in calves with high accuracy at least one day before clinical diagnosis. So integrating policies on preventative measures, new technology use, and improved breeding, can offer exponential benefits for people and animals.

The EU is one of the world’s largest trading blocs, with nearly 450 million people relying on policymakers to protect them from economic and health crises. The continent, therefore, cannot afford a passive approach to animal health and disease prevention, especially as animal diseases persist despite the measures already in place. An EU-wide strategy needs more than just shared principles and approaches. It needs tangible policies and best practices to be effective, covering the full livestock supply chain. Without decisive and inclusive action, the next major outbreak is not a question of “if” but “when”—and Europe cannot afford to be unprepared for “Disease X”.

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