Farmers' Attitudes in Connection with the Potential for Rodent Prevention in Livestock Farming in a Municipality in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Simple Summary Rodents threaten the one health approach in livestock farming. In the present observational case study, livestock farmers collaborated with a pest controller in a pilot project in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The objective was to evaluate factors influencing rodent-prevention potential on 24 livestock farms after 1.5 years project duration. Farmers' attitudes were surveyed at the project's start in March 2019. Potential for rodent prevention was assessed by an external expert in 2020. About half of the farms showed good potential for rodent prevention. Willingness to change at the project start played a central role for rodent-prevention potential. The study underscores the necessity of better informing farmers about rodent control and prevention, emphasizing the importance of preventive measures for long-term rodent control. It also highlights the need for improved advisory services for farmers.Abstract Rodents in livestock farming constitute a threat to the one health approach. In the present observational case study, livestock farmers worked together with a pest controller within a pilot project. The aim of the study was to assess determinants associated with rodent-prevention potential. The study started in March 2019 on 24 livestock farms in a municipality in North Rhine-Westphalia/Germany. At the beginning of the project a survey on the determinants expected to be related to prevention potential was conducted. To determine the potential for rodent prevention, an expert person, who was not involved in the project before, assessed the on-site conditions of the farms after 1.5 years of project duration in 2020. The potential for rodent prevention was good for about half of the farms. There were significant differences in the willingness to make changes at the project's start between farms with a high and a low potential for rodent prevention after 1.5 years. There is a general need for action to provide farmers with more practical information on rodent control. This is aggravated by the insufficient advisory services offered to farmers. This study confirms the importance of implementing preventive measures in the control of rodents to ensure that anticoagulant rodenticides are handled responsibly to reduce the impact on non-target species.