A broad coalition of animal health, livestock, veterinary and feed sector stakeholders, including FEFAC and FEFANA, is calling for stronger EU investment in animal disease prevention, warning that rising outbreak frequency and economic losses underline the need for a shift from reactive control to preventive systems built on biosecurity, vaccination and resilience.
Following recent European Commission commitments to global health funding and research on antimicrobial resistance and neglected tropical diseases, partners across the animal value chain emphasize that health, food systems and environmental stability must be addressed under an integrated One Health framework.
Stakeholders argue that preventing animal diseases at source is significantly more cost-effective than managing outbreaks after they occur, particularly in the case of zoonotic and high-impact diseases. Recent data from WOAH indicates hundreds of millions of poultry losses due to highly pathogenic avian influenza in recent years, while individual outbreaks such as foot-and-mouth disease have generated billion-euro-scale economic impacts through trade disruption and control costs.
The joint call stresses that animal disease prevention should become a strategic investment priority, supported by harmonized surveillance systems, improved vaccination strategies, stronger veterinary services, and accelerated development of next-generation vaccines, including DIVA-compatible solutions.
The feed and livestock sectors also highlight the role of nutrition, breeding for resilience, and on-farm biosecurity practices as critical components of a preventive disease management model. Stakeholders underline that vaccination and prevention tools should not be limited by regulatory or trade barriers when scientifically available and effective.
The coalition further calls for reduced reliance on mass culling and a stronger shift toward early detection, vaccination and preventive biosecurity measures, in line with global One Health and World Organization for Animal Health recommendations.