The number of livestock farms in the Netherlands must be reduced and the companies that remain must be reduced in size. This is necessary to prevent the spread of diseases that can be transmitted between humans and animals. That is the core of an advice from a group of medical experts to the outgoing cabinet, about which ministers Van Ark and Schouten are writing to the House of Representatives.
The experts were put to work in response to the corona pandemic. Even though it is likely that a next outbreak will not take place in the Netherlands, more far-reaching measures must also be taken in our country, the experts say.
Livestock farms need to be much less densely packed to prevent diseases from jumping from one farm to another, the experts say. But more research is needed to pinpoint how much less precisely, they write.
They also advise the cabinet not to allow new poultry farms in areas where many waterfowl occur. The number of existing companies in such areas should be reduced as much as possible.
The researchers also argue in favor of further research and encouragement of animal vaccination.
Maybe impact
Van Ark and Schouten speak of “firm recommendations” that have a “significant impact”. “At the same time, public health always comes first and the cabinet concludes that the risk of the spread of zoonoses is an additional and important reason to carefully consider the integration of livestock farming into rural areas,” said Schouten and Van Ark.
“The risk of zoonoses will also have to be taken into account as an important factor in shaping policy in the field of nitrogen, climate, soil and water quality,” the ministers concluded. Ultimately, it is up to a new cabinet whether or not to implement measures, says a spokesperson for the Ministry of Agriculture.
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