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This study quantified interactions between animal welfare and farm profitability in British extensive sheep farming systems. Qualitative welfare assessment methodology was used to assess welfare from the animal's perspective in 20 commercial extensive sheep farms and to estimate labour demand for welfare, based on the assessed welfare scores using data collected from farm inventories. The estimated labour demand was then used as a coefficient in a linear program based model to establish the gross margin maximising farm management strategy for given farm situations, subject to constraints that reflected current resource limitations including labour supply. Regression analysis showed a significant relationship between the qualitative welfare assessment scores and labour supply on the inventoried farms but there was no significant relationship between current gross margin and assessed welfare scores. However, to meet the labour demand of the best welfare score, a reduction in flock size and in the average maximum farm gross margin was often required. These findings supported the hypothesis that trade-offs between animal welfare and farm profitability are necessary in providing maximum animal welfare via on-farm labour and sustainable British extensive sheep farming systems.

A methodology is described to establish the relative financial benefit of farm animal disease prevention (biosecurity). This methodology is demonstrated using the example of bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV) incursion on beef suckler farms in Scotland. A random sample of 276 herds was taken and a proportion of young stock on each farm tested for previous exposure to BVDV. There was evidence that 0.4 of herds had been exposed over one year prior to sampling. All herds completed a questionnaire about their biosecurity practices. The influence of these practices on relative risk of BVDV was subjected to a Chi squared test and practices ranked accordingly. Most important risk factors were animal buying in strategy, farm size and a single farm boundary. The economic benefit/disbenefit of these strategies was assessed using a bio-economic model of a 10-year BVDV epidemic. Expected output losses due to BVDV infection and risk were affected by biosecurity strategy and by level of biosecurity threat. The implications of these findings for animal health strategy at farm and regional level are discussed.

An epidemiological model is described that closely mimicked results of a published serological study of natural transmission of Maedi-Visna virus in a low ground flock of sheep. We adjusted parameters in the model from this baseline to explore the possible implications for the control of Maedi-Visna virus in typical British flocks. On closed hill farms, low probability of effective contact was most critical for control. In open low ground flocks, purchasing accredited replacements eliminated disease spread, otherwise flock size was the most important factor governing flock prevalence. Results highlighted the need for more epidemiological information about Maedi-Visna, particularly whether hill farms act as a hidden reservoir of virus or reduce the impact of this disease on the industry by providing a source of clean replacements