25 March 2025

4 minute read

By: National Animal Disease Information Service (NADIS)

Europe

The components of a biosecurity programme are all good management practices that can increase the profitability of your sheep farming operation, according to the UK's National Animal Disease Information Service (NADIS).

A good biosecurity regimen should always be in place to improve your farm efficiency, protect neighbouring farms and the countryside, and safeguard animal and human health.

Biosecurity is not just to protect farm animals; it is also to protect you, your family and your farm workers. Disease is not always apparent, especially in its early stages. Any person visiting a sheep farm and not carrying out effective biosecurity measures on entry and on leaving a premises runs the risk of spreading diseases to and from that premises.

Infectious diseases can be spread between sheep farms by:

• Introduction of diseased sheep
• Introduction of sheep incubating disease
• Introduction of healthy sheep that have recovered from disease but are now carriers
• Vehicles, equipment, clothing and footwear of people (veterinarians, knackermen, contractors, other farmers, salesmen, service personnel) who move between flocks
• Feedstuffs, especially high risk feedstuff which could be contaminated with faeces,
• Contaminated water (surface water, streams and rivers etc.);
• Manure handling and aerosolized manure and dust; and
• Other species such as dogs, cats, wildlife, rodents, birds and insects.

What is biosecurity?

Biosecurity and biocontainment are words describing programs for infectious disease control:

• Biosecurity - aims to reduce/prevent the introduction of new diseases onto a farm from outside sources. Alternatively, 'biosecurity' is the prevention of disease-causing agents entering or leaving any place where farm animals are present.
• Biocontainment - aims to reduce/prevent the movement of infectious diseases on the farm

Biosecurity principles

Biosecurity has four major components:

1. Select - all necessary purchased sheep from known sources and/or health status to reduce the risk of infection
2. Isolation - Strict isolation prevents contact between groups of sheep after arrival on farm and reduces the risk of spread of infectious agents.
3. Movement control - includes all vehicles, animals, and people traffic that could introduce infection onto your operation.
4. Sanitation - the disinfection of materials, people and equipment entering the farm and the cleanliness of the people and equipment on the farm.

Selection of purchased animals

• Know the health history of the flocks from which sheep are purchased.
• Know the health status of sheep brought into your farm.
• Never bring in sheep without knowing their vaccination history
• Limit purchases to ewe lambs and gimmers, not older sheep

Isolation

• Quarantine all new arrivals for at least 30 days and preferably until after lambing (pregnant sheep)
• Ensure that sheep do not share community pastures/common grazing
• Ensure that sheep do not share fence lines with neighbours' sheep.

Movement control

• Ensure that methods of working are designed to minimise where possible the movement of people, vehicles or equipment into areas where sheep are kept.
• Keep a record of visitors to your farm

Sanitation

• Attempt to prevent manure contamination of feed.
• Use different equipment to feed and to clean pens or completely clean between use.
• Routinely clean and disinfect feeding equipment and sheep handling/shearing/foot trimming equipment.
• Never step in the feed bunk.
• Transport sheep in clean vehicles, preferably your own.
• Loading area is located at the perimeter of the farm.
• Collection of fallen stock is located at the perimeter of the farm.

How do I design a biosecurity programme?

• As part of your flock health plan:
• Develop a written risk assessment of your farming operation, facility and management practices.
• With the help of your veterinary practice identify the level of any infectious diseases already existing on your sheep farm.
• Identify and prioritize in writing those diseases targeted for control through your biosecurity program.
• Assess the diseases not present on your operation and prioritize those you wish to continue to exclude.
• Review your facilities with your veterinarian to determine the risk level for disease transmission or movement and write down a prioritized list of biosecurity objectives.
• Work with your veterinary practice to develop a written biosecurity plan that meets your needs.
• Inform all farm staff how to implement the plan.
• Review and update this written plan on an annual basis.

Biosecurity at livestock markets and shows

The spread of disease is a serious risk at livestock markets, where animals come into close contact with other, potentially infected, livestock or equipment. There are a number of measures which should be taken to minimise this risk:

• Do not bring onto or take off the market any vehicle, equipment or clothing contaminated with animal excreta.
• Do not leave the animal area without cleaning any contamination from your clothes.
• Do not leave the animal area without cleansing and disinfecting your boots.

Click here for more livestock disease prevention guidance from the UK's Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and Animal and Plant Health Agency.

NADIS was formed by livestock vets in 1995 to promote animal health and welfare through improved disease prevention delivered by active veterinary health planning. They are a team of vets across the UK working closely with vets in practice and RAMAs in industry to help them achieve this with farmers. Learn more.