Legal framework for terrestrial animal biosecurity in the United Republic of Tanzania

Abstract

Strengthening biosecurity will reduce health risks, improve production and enhance livelihoods through socioeconomic benefits. In the United Republic of Tanzania, the focus is on pig value chain actors, initially producers to adopt routine biosecurity practices at the farm level, to eventually scale up to involve other nodes of the value chain and/or wider geographic regions. Legislation and policy cover good practices that stakeholders should adopt to reduce the threat of health risks affecting livestock productivity and profitability.This policy brief reviews the legal framework related to biosecurity in terrestrial animal value chains (with a focus on the pig sector) in the United Republic of Tanzania to analyse the extent to which good biosecurity practices are legislated and biosecurity management is highlighted and actions that are recommended in livestock-related policy. The existing legislation mainly focuses on enforcing good biosecurity practices during outbreak situations, highlighting a gap in routine on-farm biosecurity as a preventative measure and a potential focus for future revisions.