SVEPM Workshop
Governance of
Livestock Disease
Introduction
• GoLD RELU project
– Interdisciplinary
– Endemic livestock (esp. cattle) disease
• What determines the endemicity / impact
/ control of endemic disease?
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Epidemiology
Economics
Politics
Law
Plan
• Graham Medley: introduction
9:30
– + discussion
• Wyn Grant: politics
– + discussion
• Habtu Weldegebriel: economics
– + discussion
Coffee:
10:30 – 11:00
• Wyn Grant: law
– + discussion
• Laura Green: conclusions
– + discussion
12:00
• David Carslake (John McEldowney, Justin Greaves, Jonathan
Cave)
Interdisciplinarity
• Problem framing
– What is the problem with livestock disease?
• Endemic disease can be seen as problem in
the spheres of:
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Health / welfare
Political (e.g. bTB)
Economic : reduces profitability & profit
Legal : international trade
“An Epidemiological Problem”
• Animals would be better off without
disease
• For most (all) endemic diseases we have
sufficient understanding to eliminate from
a defined population
• Even if knowledge is lacking there is
sufficient understanding to address
through appropriate research
• If only we were in charge…
– But the economics are often against us
“An Economic Problem”
• To whom?
– Farmers, industry, nation
• Only when considered in competition
– If every cow has JD, then its impact on
productivity is exactly equivalent to genetic
constraints
– There is incentive to be the first to increase
productivity and incentive to reduce the
adoption by others
• Because infectious diseases move between
farms / industries / nations none is
independent
Costs to farmers of a bTB herd
breakdown (HBD)
• Bennett and Cooke (2006) Vet. Rec. 158: 429
• An on-farm survey of 151 cattle farmers
• For 90% of HBD, cost of HBD was:
– < £18,513 (dairy) and < £11,462 (beef)
– Range: £229 to £103,817
• After compensation, a majority was left with net losses
• A minority of farmers made a profit from HBD
• Anecdotally, these are “experienced” farmers
• Endemic disease need not be an economic problem,
rather economic considerations change the way
that endemic disease is viewed and dealt with
“A Political Problem”
• If “collective” action is required to control
endemic infectious disease, then it
requires interactions between stakeholders
/ actors
• DEFRA has been a key actor
– But has failed to control bTB partly because of
inconsistent stakeholder group objectives
– Has not regarded endemic disease as important
unless international economic competition,
international legal requirement or human health
“A Legal Problem”
• Epidemiology, economics and politics can
only act through legal frameworks
• Legal systems in EU are changing from
“command and control” to regulatory
governance
– This will make endemic infectious disease
control even more complex
– Especially as different endemic diseases are
not independent
– But does provide an opportunity to create a
system that can control endemic disease
Governance of Livestock Disease
• We have learnt to live with endemic
disease
• So the EEPL systems adapt to their
presence and they become “more”
endemic…
• Can we understand how each of the EEPL
affects and is affected by its EEPL
context
• How should we do this?
• What is the answer?