Abstract The problems of animal health in the Britain of the 1980s must be visualized in terms of increased intensivism, larger units, and a further diminished labour force. This will demand the increased application of professional services and more highly skilled planning in unit economics, disease control, nutrition, genetics, and in a pasture management integrated with extensive animal production systems. Steadily increasing production will depend upon: (i) Maintenance of freedom from the major animal plagues by effective import examination of animals and their products, continuing and developing international disease surveillance and supporting international disease control schemes. (ii) Systematic application of known preventive and remedial agents for specific diseases. (iii) In all animal enterprises the evaluation, diagnosis and treatment of inapparent or mild clinical disease by examination of strategically directed records of animal performance, for example, in breeding or in yield of final product. (iv) The development in pigs, and possibly in poultry, of breeding nuclei free of specific disease. The aim for the 1980s should be not only to increase production in quantitative terms, but to improve its efficiency and the quality of the product. All are dependent upon a high animal health status.