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Annual Health and Welfare Review: resources for vets
The following resources provide vets and vet-led teams with official and practical guidance for carrying out the Annual Health and Welfare Review for cattle, sheep and pigs as part of the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway.
What is the Annual Health and Welfare Review?
The Annual Health and Welfare Review (Annual Review) provides farmers with an annual, fully funded vet visit.
It gives vets the freedom to decide, with farmers, where to focus support for improvements in livestock health and welfare, tailored to individual farm needs.
The Annual Review is part of a wider programme of funding known as the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway.
The Annual Review fulfils the requirements for Veterinary Attestation Numbers (VANs), where livestock or animal products may be exported to the EU.
Find out more about Veterinary Attestation Numbers
Learn about veterinary attestation for animal health visits (previously veterinary declaration)
What is the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway?
The Animal Health and Welfare Pathway is a long-term, project partnership co-designed by government and industry, across cattle (beef and dairy), sheep, pig and poultry (layer and broiler) sectors to support continual improvement in health and welfare.
The first of four steps of the programme were launched in February 2023 to provide farmers in England with a fully funded vet visit.
Find out more about the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway at gov.uk
Explore the four steps that were launched in February 2023
Guidance for carrying out Annual Health and Welfare Reviews
The videos below provide vets and vet-led teams with official and practical guidance for carrying out the Annual Health and Welfare Review for cattle, sheep and pigs as part of the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway.
This includes an overview for vets working with a single species, as well as details for vets who work across different species.
Some aspects may be useful to share with the wider practice team, particularly if they are supporting you in delivering Annual Reviews.
The development of the resources has been funded by Defra and developed by AHDB in collaboration with the Sheep Veterinary Society, British Cattle Veterinary Association, the Pig Vet Society and the Pathway’s co-design team.
Following feedback from farmers and vets, the testing requirements for pigs in the Annual Health and Welfare Review has been changed from blood sampling to oral fluid testing.
This will benefit the welfare of the pigs being tested and make the process easier for farmers and vets.
We will update the information on this page to reflect the new testing requirements in due course.
This video covers:
- Where to find official and practical guidance
- Review and report requirements
- Mandatory elements of the Review for pigs
- When to do the Review
- What to include in your reports to the farmer
- Suggested pig-specific health and welfare areas and resources
- African swine fever (ASF)
- Medicine usage
- Welfare codes
- Pig industry priorities you may wish to consider
- Your recommendations and report requirements
- Farmer funding opportunities
- Common errors
- Where you can get further support
This video covers:
- Where to find official and practical guidance
- Review and report requirements
- Mandatory elements of the Review for sheep
- When to do the Review
- What to include in your reports to the farmer
- Suggested sheep-specific health and welfare areas and resources
- Sheep industry priorities you may wish to consider
- Internal and external parasite control
- Medicine usage
- Biosecurity
- Welfare codes
- Your recommendations and report requirements
- Farmer funding opportunities
- Common errors
- Where you can get further support
This video covers:
- Where to find official and practical guidance
- Review and report requirements
- Mandatory elements of the Review for cattle
- When to do the Review
- What to include in your reports to the farmer
- Suggested cattle-specific health and welfare areas and resources
- Cattle industry priorities you may wish to consider
- Further areas and resources
- Medicine usage
- Biosecurity
- Welfare codes
- Your recommendations and report requirements
- Farmer funding opportunities
- Common errors
- Where you can get further support
This video covers:
- Where to find official and practical guidance
- Biosecurity as an element of the Annual Health and Welfare Review
- General prompts to help you discuss biosecurity topics with your clients
- Species-specific biosecurity
- Sheep
- Cattle
- Pigs
- Your recommendations and report requirements
- Farmer funding opportunities
- Where you can get further support
Following feedback from farmers and vets, the testing requirements for pigs in the Annual Health and Welfare Review has been changed from blood sampling to oral fluid testing.
This will benefit the welfare of the pigs being tested and make the process easier for farmers and vets.
We will update the information on this page to reflect the new testing requirements in due course.
This video covers:
- Where to find official and practical guidance
- The what, why and when of disease testing for the review
- Recommended laboratories and what to do with test results
- Species-specific tests, covering:
- Sheep – the worming treatment check (WTC)
- Cattle – Bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) testing
- Pigs – Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) testing
- Where you can get further support
This short video provides guidance for vets on blood sampling pigs under 13 weeks of age. The content covers:
- Preparation to minimise stress
- Equipment checklist
- Blood sampling technique
- Potential risks
Blood sampling guidance for pigs
Our guidance for vets on taking a blood sample from pigs that are more than 13 weeks of age covers:
- Preparation and location
- Equipment checklist
- Pig handling and restraint with a snare
- Blood sampling technique
You can review the guidance online or print the factsheet for quick reference.
Read our blood sampling guidance
PRRS testing laboratory submission form
A laboratory submission form should be completed in full and used when submitting blood samples for PRRS testing as part of the Annual Health and Welfare Review for pigs.
The form can be completed online and printed, or printed and completed by hand, whichever you prefer.
It has been designed by the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway co-design group specifically for the purpose of the Annual Review.
Guidance videos for carrying out Annual Health and Welfare Reviews
Select the relevant video from the playlist using the menu in the top right of the video screen
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