Animal Health

The Danish Veterinary and Food Administration is responsible for the prevention and control of animal diseases in Denmark. Diseases in animals are controlled due to concerns about animal welfare, to prevent infections of humans and animals due to food safety and trade interests.

The Danish livestock population is free of a large number of WOAH-listed diseases; many of the listed diseases have never occurred in Denmark, and other listed diseases have not occurred in Denmark for many years.

Denmark has several pathogen-specific surveillance programmes aimed at demonstrating the absence of diseases that usually cause insignificant clinical symptoms, or at determining the occurrence, prevalence or distribution of diseases or infections. To give an example, Denmark has had an official disease surveillance programme comprising all fish farms in the country since 1970.

Denmark is recognised as officially free of Aujeszky's disease, bovine brucellosis, bovine tuberculosis, Brucella melitensis, enzootic bovine leukosis, infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR), viral haemorrhagic septicaemia (VHS) and bovine virus diarrhea (BVD).

For decades, Denmark has experienced no outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease, sylvatic rabies or infection with trichinellosis. Brucellosis has not been detected in Danish pig herds since 1999.

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) has not occurred in Denmark since 2009. Denmark is recognised by the OIE as a country having a 'negligible BSE risk'.

Classical scrapie has never been reported in Denmark. Atypical scrapie was last diagnosed in Denmark in 2022.

African swine fever has never been reported in Denmark, and classical swine fever has not been reported in Denmark since 1933.

Annual Reports: Animal Health in Denmark

In the Annual Report on Animal Health in Denmark, the developments each year in the field of animal health in Denmark are reviewed. The focus is on WOAH-listed diseases and the animal diseases that are notifiable in Denmark. The Annual Report also provides statistical information and an overview of surveillance that may be useful for reference purposes.

Read the annual reports on animal health in Denmark:

Animal Health in Denmark, 2022

Animal Health in Denmark, 2021

Animal Health in Denmark, 2020​

Animal Health in Denm​ark, 2019​​

Animal Health in Denmark, 2018

Previous versions from period 1999-2017 are available by contacting The Animal Health Division 14@fvst.dk.