The Government has approved the Royal Decree that establishes the bases for applying the European Union regulations on animal health, in relation to the surveillance obligations of the owners of livestock farms and their comprehensive health plan.
The new royal decree develops the figure of the farm veterinarian, includes the minimum content of the comprehensive health plan for livestock farms and establishes the minimum frequency of animal health visits.
This standard will apply to all livestock farms for food production, the commercial use of livestock products or agricultural purposes. Farms for self-consumption are exempted from its application, as well as certain farms based on their size considered to be of low risk from the health point of view, and other establishments such as livestock competitions, slaughterhouses, bullrings, concentrations of non-permanent animals and Checkpoints.
The farm veterinarian will carry out:
Health and animal welfare supervision of the livestock farm in person and on a regular basis.
Supervision of the aspects included in the Comprehensive Health Plan.
During these visits, the veterinarian will make the pertinent recommendations to correct the deficiencies that he observes, including those aimed at achieving a sustainable use of antibiotics. Similarly, the veterinarian will advise the farmer on biosecurity, traceability, feeding, early detection and rapid response to diseases and on the importance of antimicrobial resistance.
The farm veterinarian will also be in charge of designing the Animal Welfare Plan and supervising its compliance, the content of which is found in its specific regulations.
