Veterinary Practice
A research project in Scotland revealed attitudes of backyard keepers to biosecurity and veterinary care for their animals.
Avian influenza circulating in Europe and Asia poses a constant seasonal risk to the UK poultry industry. While biosecurity and health and welfare in the commercial sector is well monitored, not much is known about the practices of small-scale, “backyard” keepers in Scotland. In order to gain further insight, qualitative research funded by the Scottish Government’s Centre of Expertise on Animal Disease Outbreaks (EPIC) was carried out in Aberdeenshire and Fife prior to the H5N8 outbreak in December 2016.
