Animal Health News

Sheep farmers are being encouraged to take advantage of Elanco’s Blowfly Forecast to monitor fly populations in their area and develop a control plan ahead of rising temperatures.

Due to changing weather patterns in the UK and Ireland, blowfly season is now starting earlier, lasting longer, and becoming increasingly difficult to forecast. To help farmers prepare for the upcoming season and minimise the risk of fly strike, the British veterinary organisation NADIS (National Animal Disease Information Service) offers some advice.

Bird keepers are being urged to maintain scrupulous biosecurity standards as housing measures for poultry and captive birds are set to lift on Tuesday 18th April 2023 in England and Wales, the UK’s chief veterinary officer has announced today (11th April) following the latest assessment of avian flu risk.

A seasonal study, carried out on Islay as part of the RHASS Presidential Initiative (PI), has demonstrated that treating livestock ‘as little as possible, but as much as necessary’ for liver fluke can deliver a multitude of benefits for both animal and environmental health.

Farmers are being reminded of the risk of botulism after the disease was found to be the culprit behind the sudden death of over 100 dairy cows at a Jersey farm in December 2022.

Vets are urging farmers to vaccinate their flocks with Cevac Chlamydia early in the season to help protect their ewes from EAE (enzootic abortion of ewes) and avoid a lack of the Cevac Chlamydia vaccine anticipated later in the year.

Farmers are being encouraged to take a proactive approach when dealing with sudden reproductive loss in livestock and investigate cases to help identify any potential health risks to their herd or flock.

Farmers must be on their guard for roundworms in sheep this season by regularly conducting faecal egg counts, as data from last year revealed record peaks in worm egg counts despite a hotter than average summer.

Livestock farmers are being reminded to look into the causes of pneumonia and coughing in calves and youngstock and take steps to understand the mycoplasma status of their herd.

Farmers are being reminded to treat all sheep returning from grazing with a group 4 wormer and quarantine the animals to avoid bringing resistant worms onto farms.

The latest round of the Rural Payments Agency’s (RPA) Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF) offers grant funding for a range of equipment, including mobile sheep handling and herd monitoring systems, with MSD Animal Health also offering support to improve flock productivity.

His Majesty King Charles III is today (Thursday 9th March) paying a visit to the Animal Plant and Health Agency (APHA) in Weybridge to offer his congratulations to scientists and staff for their role in fighting the UK’s biggest avian flu outbreak to date.