Animal health management concepts and practices in livestock production under organic farming specifications

In order to contribute to the development of Organic Agriculture (OA) in France, this article provides elements for the understanding of its regulatory framework and particularities. First of all, the analysis of sociotechnical literature shows that organic farmers have a specific view of animal health which is based on a preventive and holistic approach to animal health, according to which health management is primarily based on levers related to the management of the farming system. Farmers surround themselves with a diversity of actors to accompany them in the management of health at the farm level, which goes beyond the classical advice of the veterinarian. Then, another particularity is that the health status of the herds seems to be better in OA than in conventional agriculture. Indeed, comparative studies show a lower frequency of treatment of clinically expressed diseases in AB, without it being clear whether this is due to a lower level of medication used by farmers. Finally, a focus is made on certain rearing practices, imposed or recommended by the specifications for reasons of health or biodiversity preservation. These practices have been widely adopted by organic farmers and have had positive impacts on animal health. These particularities have been addressed in the literature unequally depending on the animal production sector. Therefore, in this review, more detailed elements are given on ruminants, and some specific contributions are made concerning pig and poultry productions. Afin de contribuer au développement continu de l’Agriculture Biologique (AB) en France, cet article apporte des éléments de compréhension de son cadre réglementaire et de ses particularités. Tout d’abord, l’analyse sociotechnique montre que les conceptions de la santé animale, portées par les éleveurs et les accompagnants techniques spécialisés, sont basés sur une approche préventive et holistique de la santé animale, selon laquelle la gestion de la santé passe avant tout par des leviers liés à la conduite du système d’élevage. Les éleveurs s’entourent d’une diversité d’acteurs pour les accompagner dans cette gestion globale de la santé, qui dépasse le conseil classique du vétérinaire. Ensuite, une autre particularité de la santé en élevage AB traitée ici est relative au statut épidémiologique des élevages : même si une forte variabilité existe entre élevages et pays, l’état sanitaire des troupeaux est en moyenne meilleur en AB qu’en agriculture conventionnelle. Enfi