Species: Poultry
Country: Spain
General
The biosecurity survey for poultry was developed by official veterinary services and is managed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries (MAPA) in Spain. The goal of the survey is to improve the biosecurity on the poultry farms including pullets units, layers, broilers, breeders and turkeys. The survey was developed in the scope on the national control program for Salmonella (NCPS). Therefore, the focus of the survey are biosecurity measures crucial for minimizing the risk of Salmonella entering the farm. However, also some other biosecurity measures, for example the contact with wild birds, are assessed in order to be useful for assessing the risk of other illnesses as well. Each time an official audit is performed on a poultry farm, the biosecurity survey is completed. The frequency of those official audits is put down in the legislation and depends on the type of poultry, population of the flock, etc. On a regular basis the content of the survey is revised to make it for example suitable for outdoor production.
Official veterinary services responsible for the national control program for Salmonella can access and use the survey freely.
Data collection
Completing the biosecurity survey is mandatory for poultry farms included in the NCPS and is part of the official audits. Therefore, the surveys are conducted by official veterinary services by performing a farm visit with direct inspection of the production units. The person interviewed is preferably someone that knows the farms very well such as the farm owner or manager. An online application is used to collect all the data at a central level.
Data analysis, reporting and benchmarking
The data are analysed by a scoring method based on weighting biosecurity measures or a group of measures. This results in the farm receiving a biosecurity score after completing the survey. The results allow the Competent Authority to write a report with obligations, recommendations and suggestions on how to improve the biosecurity and it is sent to the farmer. Benchmarking of the farms is done at individual and general aggregated level.
