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Ruminant farming and animal health

Publié le par Juliette Ferial (Institut de l'Elevage), Valérie David (Institut de l'Elevage)
Santé Bovin lait Bovin viande Caprin Ovin lait Ovin viande Veau de boucherie
Farm animals are exposed to viruses, bacteria, and parasites that can affect their health. Animal health is a constant concern for farmers and their partners. Farmers and other animal health professionals work daily to prevent and control diseases affecting livestock. Overall, France is recognized for the high sanitary standards of its livestock. However, new health threats are emerging, linked to climate change, wildlife management, and the globalization of trade. Managing animal health in livestock farming addresses multiple challenges. Protecting animal health helps safeguard public health, animal production, animal welfare, farmer well-being, food supply security, the rural economy, and the environment. As such, animal health is part of the "One Health" approach, which promotes a multidisciplinary and integrated view of health issues across humans, animals, and ecosystems.

This document explains how good animal health is ensured in ruminant farming.

Farmers keep their herds healthy by applying daily biosecurity measures, whether regulatory or initiated by farmers and their industry sectors.

These preventive measures aim to limit the introduction of pathogens into farms, the occurrence of diseases, the establishment and circulation of infectious agents within the farm, and their spread beyond the farm boundaries.

Disease prevention in farms helps reduce the use of medicinal inputs such as antibiotics, antiparasitics, or more broadly, antimicrobials. This is part of the collective effort across animal production sectors to combat antibiotic resistance. Thanks to coordinated actions by farmers and animal health stakeholders, antibiotic use in farming has significantly decreased, along with associated antibiotic resistance risks and, consequently, the environmental impact of these drugs.

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Moreover, animal health is closely linked to human health. Protecting animal health is fundamental not only for animal welfare and food safety but also to reduce the transmission of diseases to humans in cases of zoonoses.

Regular monitoring of the health status of livestock provides a guarantee for both public health and the control of epizootics.

Additionally, improving animal robustness (resistance and/or resilience) is also a key lever for ensuring good health, notably through genetic selection, immune system strengthening, and understanding the relationships between nutrition and health.

However, when health crises occur, they are managed by farmers (or persons in contact with the animals) and the industry sectors, in collaboration with the government and all animal health stakeholders, to protect both animal and human health.

Finally, maintaining animal health ensures productivity, reduces losses, and is therefore a crucial sustainability challenge.