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 diseases have always been subject to government legislation. In the event of an outbreak, the principal policy is 'stamping-out' (depopulation) of the infected herd. The owner of the herd is usually awarded financial compensation. The authors provide an overview of the involvement of the agriculture industry and government in animal disease emergencies and the funding of compensation in Western Europe. In particular, developments within the European Union are described, as illustrated by a case study in the Netherlands. The economic consequences of a widespread epidemic of classical swine fever (hog cholera) in the Netherlands in 1997 are described. Evaluation of the epidemic demonstrated that special emphasis needs to be placed on factors such as the high-risk period, animal movement, the attitude of farmers towards risk and the structure of compensation. Epidemic disease insurance schemes are considered to be a possible alternative in alleviating certain financial losses caused by disease outbreaks.