Wormer Survey Needs Your Input

UK - An online survey from a leading animal health research centre strives to establish how livestock owners are buying and using anthelmintic wormer products.
calendar icon 3 August 2015
clock icon 2 minute read

Parasitologists at Edinburgh’s Moredun Institute are keen to uncover perceptions and attitudes surrounding wormers in the livestock industry and how the products are bought and sold.

The survey, available here, is open to those keeping pigs, sheep, cattle and horses, the results of which will be used to inform the Veterinary Medicines Directorate as to how producers perceive the risk of anthelmintic resistance and level of advice offered to them when purchasing products.

Professor Jacqui Matthews, project leader at Moredun, says the survey could inform the industry to deal with a very serious animal health issue.

She stresses resistance is particularly acute in sheep and horses and a problem in other parts of the world, particularly in New Zealand.

“When all three traditional classes of drench are not effective, as was the case in some areas of the UK, sheep farming became unsustainable because production targets weren’t hit,” says Professor Matthews.

“What we hope to do is get a picture of the level of farmer knowledge and their experience through a survey which should take no longer than twenty minutes.

Anthelmintic products are available through three different channels;

  1. Veterinary surgeons
  2. SQPs – Suitably Qualified Persons – e.g. in feed merchants, tack shops
  3. Veterinary Pharmacist – qualified with The Royal Pharmaceutical Society

The study is open until August 31. The findings will be published in the autumn of 2016, along with stakeholder meetings to provide feedback to those regulating, dispensing and using wormers.

Wormer Survey

Take the survey by clicking here.

Michael Priestley

Michael Priestley
News Team - Editor

Mainly production and market stories on ruminants sector. Works closely with sustainability consultants at FAI Farms

 
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