Health risks associated with livestock farms

In recent years intensive livestock farming has provoked considerable social disquiet in the Netherlands. This involves various elements, such as animal welfare, sustainability, the quality of residential life, landscape quality, and public health risks (especially since the outbreak of Q fever). With a view to the latter point, the Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport – also on behalf of the State Secretary for Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation, and the State Secretary for Infrastructure and the Environment – has approached the Health Council with a request for advice. These members of the government are interested in ways of assessing the health risks associated with living in the vicinity of livestock farms.