The efficiency of wire nets in enhancing the biosecurity of poultry in Brazil

The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of the use of wire nets of various mesh sizes to enhance biosecurity in the poultry industry in Brazil by preventing other bird species from entering chicken houses. The Brazilian poultry industry is technologically advanced and employs updated technology. The current Brazilian guidelines recommend the use of 25.40 mm mesh. However, scientific evidence of the efficiency of the nets recommended by these guidelines is lacking. In this study, a bird biometric methodology was developed to evaluate bird species. The methodology was based on the body dimensions of the animal, and it employed a new statistical design to analyse the data. Three groups of bird species were designated according to their importance. The value of this criterion (the importance of the species) was estimated by assessing the ability of birds to pass through the net. The paradigm was used to study 23 wild avian species that are naturally present in Brazil. The best results were observed for nets with a mesh size < or = 19.11 mm. This mesh size was able to efficiently restrain all of the species studied. However, in the same test, the net with 25.40 mm mesh could not restrain 11 bird species, one of which was Passer domesticus, which is found worldwide. On the basis of these results, the use of 19.11 mm mesh should be strongly recommended in order to achieve biosecurity of poultry houses.