Biosecurity practices in Belgian cattle farming: Level of implementation, constraints and weaknesses

. Chi-square and Spearman's rank correlation tests, respectively, allowed comparing implementation levels in dairy herds vs. beef herds and investigating the correlation between the importance that farmers give to a BSM and its implementation level. Biosecurity measures were poorly implemented to prevent disease introduction through direct contact and almost not to avoid indirect transmission. Some measures showed a significant difference in terms of implementation level between beef and dairy herds. A positive correlation was highlighted between the importance that farmers give to a BSM and its actual effective implementation. Perceived lack of efficiency, feasibility and usefulness are the reasons most often mentioned for non-implementation. Other factors potentially influencing the decision-making process should be further investigated and clarified. Evidence-based studies would be useful to convince the farmers of the need of implementing BSM.