Evaluating Biosecurity

This project was funded by the Welsh Assembly Government and involved evaluating their Biosecurity Intensive Treatment Area in West Wales which ran from 2006-2008. The project was completed with the Royal Veterinary College, ADAS, and BRASS at Cardiff University.

The Intensive Treatment Area (or ITA) was a pilot project that attempted to encourage farmers improve their levels of biosecurity. Farms in an area of West Wales were asked to participate in the project - those agreeing received two biosecurity risk assessment visits and a set of personalised biosecurity recommended actions.



The assessment visits were completed by farmers' own vet and used what was known as the 'scoring tool' - a quantitative assessment of each farms overall biosecurity risks. The scoring tool was devised by the Royal Veterinary College in partnership with the vets themselves at a series of Expert Opinion Workshops. Each participating farm was assessed early on during the ITA and given a set of recommendations. Vets then returned 9-12 months later to repeat the biosecurity measurements.

The results of the evaluation were published in October 2008 and are being used used to inform the biosecurity elements of the Welsh Assembly Government's bovine tuberculosis eradication strategy.

You can read the final report here (pdf).

You can see more about the ITA and the impressions of one of the vets involved here (ppt).

You can see reaction to the report here:

Farmers Weekly

Badger Trust (pdf)