Extensive livestock farming is an important component of the landscape and a primary sector in south-central Spain. ln this type of farms, water and food resources are scarce for a long period along the year, which conduct to wildlife (especially wild boar and red deer) and domestic livestock to share resources. Proper management of these interactions can help to reduce direct and indirect transmission of infectious pathogens at the interface. We visited 53 cattle farms in south-central Spain to assess in situ all the risk points for wildlife-livestock interaction, for which we developed a standardise field protocol to assess biosecurity. We proposed specific biosecurity plans for each farm to reduce interspecific contacts, which are mainly indirect. With the information obtained so far we have been able to conclude that: i) Complex situations where different hosts are present, in addition to the wild, are common. Extensive pig may act as epidemiological driver among wildlife and cattle. ii) ln a not inconsiderable proportion of farms (almost one third), supplementary feeding is provided to wildlife for hunting purposes. iii) Among the measures proposed, apart from wildlife population control, the most frequent recommended practices included ensuring that animals drink together safely in each of the fences and the intelligent management of grazing. iv) The most expensive measures refer to the need for perimeter game fences or livestock fences. Regarding the cost per farm to implement a biosecurity program, provisional data indicate that in 70 % of the costs does not amount to more 100 per cattle. In the near future, the efficacy and practical applicability of these programmes is going to be evaluated by means of different disease models, so as the design of biosecurity protocols for extensive pig and goat.

Resumen del trabajo presentado a la 12th Conference of the European Wildlife Disease Association (EWDA), celebrada en Berlin (Alemania) del 26 al 31 de agosto de 2016.

Peer Reviewed