Farmers’ beliefs and voluntary vaccination schemes: Bluetongue in Dutch dairy cattle

•Farmers’ beliefs drive the intention to vaccinate voluntarily against Bluetongue.•Knowing the influential beliefs can help in selecting suitable policy instruments.•Attitudinal and normative beliefs are the most influential.•The past Bluetongue vaccination strategy in the Netherlands is evaluated.•Social interaction mechanisms might advance the design of vaccination strategies. This research utilizes the Reasoned Action Approach framework to study which beliefs drive the intention of farmers to participate in a voluntary vaccination scheme against Bluetongue. Knowing the driving beliefs can help in selecting an appropriate mix of policy instruments to enhance the participation rate and thereby improve the cost-effectiveness and efficiency of voluntary vaccination strategies. Results are used to evaluate the policy instruments used by the Dutch government in their 2008 vaccination strategy (communicative intervention and vaccine subsidization). The paper posits that social interaction mechanisms, such as peer group pressure, might advance the design of voluntary vaccination strategies.