The involvement of the agriculture industry and government in animal disease emergencies and the funding of compensation in Western Europe

In Western Europe, the control and eradication of contagious animal disease s have always been subject to government legislation. In the event of an ou tbreak, the principal policy is 'stamping-out' (depopulation) of the infect ed herd. The owner of the herd is usually awarded financial compensation. The authors provide an overview of the involvement of the agriculture indus try and government in animal disease emergencies and the funding of compens ation in Western Europe. In particular, developments within the European Un ion are described, as illustrated by a case study in the Netherlands. The e conomic consequences of a widespread epidemic of classical swine fever (hog cholera) in the Netherlands in 1997 are described. Evaluation of the epide mic demonstrated that special emphasis needs to be placed on factors such a s the high-risk period, animal movement, the attitude of farmers towards ri sk and the structure of compensation. Epidemic disease insurance schemes ar e considered to be a possible alternative in alleviating certain financial losses caused by disease outbreaks.