cattle, sheep and equine sectors and depend also on the type of disease. For example, animals culled due to FMD will generally result in full valuation-based compensation, while keepers of horses culled to control exotic disease may only receive £1 in compensation per animal (up to £2500 in the case of African horse sickness) (see Defra 2011 for FMD, Defra 2012 for African horse sickness and Defra 2015b for AI). The availability of compensation may encourage animal keepers to report disease quickly and adhere to legal requirements for cleaning and disinfecting their premises. However, Enticott and Lee (2015) suggest that the existence of compensation does not necessarily provide a strong incentive for animal keepers to implement biosecurity measures to reduce the risk of disease spread. Nevertheless, under the principle of ‘prevention rather than cure’, animal keepers are expected to practice certain biosecurity measures (such as limiting and controlling farm visitors, appropriate sourcing of livestock and isolation practices) within their normal routine to help reduce the risk of disease incidence and spread. It is advised that biosecurity practices be maintained and enhanced during a disease outbreak. The non-compensation orientated influences on biosecurity uptake amongst farmers in England are relatively well established (see for example, Bennett and Cooke 2005, Gunn and others 2008, Enticott and Franklin 2009, Floyd 2011, Fisher 2013, Naylor and others 2016). However, little is known about how animal keepers and veterinarians view the role of current compensation systems in promoting the implementation of biosecurity and the speed of reporting suspicion, in relation to exotic disease management behaviour. This paper reports on the findings from a recent qualitative study designed to understand how compensation systems might influence exotic disease management. Before the research was conducted, a separate rapid evidence assessment was undertaken to inform Defra's review of the way it pays compensation for exotic livestock disease. This assessment involved a review of existing evidence and the identification of research gaps (see Barnes and others 2015), and concluded that thus far, there has been a focus on economical modelling (see for example Boni and others 2013, Hennessy and Wang 2013) and a relative lack of investigation into compensation and behavioural change. Acknowledging this need to consider farmer behaviour from qualitative social science perspectives, Defra commissioned research to form part of the wider interdisciplinary evidence base, and this paper directly addresses this knowledge gap. It draws on findings from a study undertaken with animal keepers and veterinarians between January and April 2015 which aimed to elicit views on how different hypothetical compensation systems may influence animal keeper exotic disease management behaviour in England. Specifically, animal keepers and veterinarians’ views were sought on the influence of three different compensation systems. After a brief review and justification of the research methods employed in this study, the main section of the paper examines animal keeper and veterinarian responses to the different compensation system scenarios. The final section of the paper discusses the implications of the findings in terms of exotic livestock disease management.

## Research methods

A qualitative approach was adopted for this study, involving a total of 82 face-to-face interviews and nine sector-specific focus groups. In total, 61 interviews were carried out with animal keepers across key livestock sectors (poultry, sheep, cattle, pigs, equine, backyard/hobby) and further data were collected via interviews with 11 APHA veterinarians and 10 private veterinarians. Of the 61 animal keepers interviewed, 50 (across the sectors) had prior experience of exotic livestock disease in terms of suspected or confirmed cases, as did all of the veterinarians. The interview sample was drawn from data held by APHA. For certain livestock sectors, such as equine, due to low incidence of exotic disease in the past, it was necessary to also interview animal keepers without past experience. The