National definitions and legal requirements for biosecurity on small-scale livestock farms in Europe

Biebaut, Evelin (author), Piccirillo, Alessandra (author), Galuppo, Francesco (author), Milovanović, Bojan (author), Prodanov-Radulović, Jasna (author), Viltrop, Arvo (author), Ozsvari, Laszlo (author), Gomes, Carla Correia (author), De Nardi, Marco (author), Graziosi, Giulia (author), Štukelj, Marina (author), Starič, Jože (author)

Small-scale livestock farms play an important role in food security and are often associated with lower levels of biosecurity, thereby increasing the risk of disease introduction and spread, which compromises both animal and public health. Establishing a clear legal framework for biosecurity could help ensure the consistent adoption of preventive measures on these farms. However, little is known about how biosecurity is regulated for small-scale farms across Europe, and on how these farms are defined at national level. This study aimed to map the biosecurity measures that are mandated for small-scale pig, poultry and cattle farms by national legislation and to identify the criteria used to define small-scale farms. Species-specific questionnaires covering pre-listed biosecurity measures were distributed to national experts, and validated information was obtained from 19 European countries. The results showed considerable heterogeneity: most countries lack a clear definition of small-scale farms, with categorization most frequently based on the purpose of animal keeping rather than the number of animals. Biosecurity measures were mandated by national legislation for small-scale farms, but were rarely tailored to the production systems, instead being applied uniformly to all holdings of a given species. Furthermore, regular assessment of biosecurity implementation was mandatory in around half of the small-scale farm types. These findings highlight legislative gaps and inconsistencies that limit the ability to design proportionate, risk-based approaches for small-scale farms. More targeted policies are needed including clear definitions and adapted biosecurity requirements. Otherwise, small-scale farm types continue to be overlooked in Europe’s biosecurity framework.

• Language: English
• Keywords: biosecurity, legislation, mapping, risk-based policy
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: VF - Veterinary Faculty
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2026
• Number of pages: 12 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 252, art. 106854
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-181483
• UDC: 636:614.9:34(4)
• ISSN on article: 1873-1716
• DOI: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2026.106854
• COBISS.SI-ID: 273170691
• Publication date in RUL: 09.04.2026

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Preventive veterinary medicine
• Shortened title: Prev. vet. med.
• Publisher: Elsevier BV
• ISSN: 1873-1716
• COBISS.SI-ID: 191670787

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: biološka varnost, zakonodaja, kartiranje, politika, ki temelji na tveganju

Projects

• Funder: EC - European Commission
• Project number: 101083923
• Name: Enhanced and cost-effective biosecurity in livestock production
• Acronym: BioSecure