Abstract
Disease outbreaks in U.S. animal livestock industries have economic impacts measured in hundreds of millions of dollars per year. Biosecurity, or procedures intended to protect animals against disease, is known to be effective at reducing infection risk at facilities. Yet, to the detriment of animal health, humans do not always follow biosecurity protocols. Human behavioral factors have been shown to influence willingness to follow biosecurity protocols. Here we show how social cues may affect cooperation with a biosecurity practice. Participants were immersed in a simulated swine production facility through a graphical user interface and prompted to make a decision that addressed their willingness to comply with a biosecurity practice. We tested the effect of varying three experimental variables: (1) the risk of acquiring an infection, (2) the delivery method of the infection risk information (numerical vs. graphical), and (3) the behavior of an automated coworker in the facility. We provide evidence that participants changed their behavior when they observed a simulated worker making a choice to follow or not follow a biosecurity protocol, even though the simulated worker had no economic effect on the participants' payouts. These results advance the understanding of human behavioral effects on biosecurity protocol decisions, demonstrating that social cues need to be considered by livestock facility managers when developing policies to make agricultural systems more disease resilient.
Highlights
Endemic and emergent diseases remain a constant threat to the animal and economic welfare of the livestock industry
A national survey of U.S hog producers found that from 2014 to 2017, 54.3% reported having suffered an outbreak of Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSv) and 43.9% reported experiencing an outbreak of Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv) [1]
We developed a novel experiment based on the framework of the serious game designed by Merrill et al [30], in which participants were confronted with a compliance decision related to a common biosecurity practice, usually referred to as showering in-and-out
Summary
Endemic and emergent diseases remain a constant threat to the animal and economic welfare of the livestock industry. Annual economic losses due to PRRSv and PEDv are estimated at $580.62 million [2] and upwards of $900 million [3], respectively. Social Cue Effects on Compliance considering the current threat of African swine fever, a highly virulent disease that can cause up to 100% fatality in pigs [4]. Analysis of consumer preferences indicates that animal welfare is an important attribute to some consumers of livestock products [5]. Public concerns related to food safety can cause reductions in pork consumption, which has economic ramifications for the swine industry. Implementation of biosecurity best management organizational policies is critical for effectively preventing or controlling outbreaks of existing and emerging virulent diseases [6]
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