Management of animal welfare in disease outbreaks

Abstract

• Disease outbreaks are biological disasters; in disasters, animal welfare will be optimal if the care of animals is managed using proven principles of emergency preparedness and response. • Because animal welfare issues can arise quickly in modern animal husbandry systems, relying on a purely technical understanding of the disease is insufficient as a response strategy. To establish an effective and comprehensive response strategy that protects animal welfare preparedness, efforts before the outbreak should focus on identifying systemic issues that could give rise to critical resource shortages in a disease outbreak, such as personnel shortages and a poor public understanding of disease control methods. • During the response, priority should be given to quickly characterizing the pathogen and the scope of the outbreak and approaches that create minimum disruption to functioning husbandry systems.