Monitoring Program

In the prevention and eradication of animal diseases, it is essential to have a well-designed monitoring programme in place. The EU has some of the best developed monitoring programmes in the world. The EU sets basic rules for these monitoring programmes, which are then implemented in the national legislation of the member states.

The Netherlands has a comprehensive monitoring plan for the poultry sector, including, for example, sampling for avian influenza, Newcastle disease and various types of salmonella. This plan includes guidelines on when sampling should be carried out, who is responsible for taking the samples and what samples should be taken.

With this monitoring plan, the Netherlands has managed to detect and largely eradicate several important animal diseases. For example, the occurrence of salmonella has been significantly reduced over the years.

Funding of the programmes

The Dutch industry and the ministry jointly established the Animal Health Fund. Monitoring and eradication of notifiable diseases (e.g. avian influenza, MG, MS and certain salmonella) are financed by this fund. All farmers pay a certain levy. The ministry and the animal sectors annually review the distribution of the levies and assess the likely costs for the coming year.