Steps to protect national flock health highlighted at NSA Sheep Event
5th August 2024
The importance of prioritising flock health was the key message delivered to visitors attending the National Sheep Association (NSA) Sheep Event last week.
From seminar discussions to practical advice delivered in the many workshops and demonstrations, the event provided farmers with useful information on many aspects of flock health to consider for their own farming enterprises, the organisers confirmed.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the event, government chief veterinary officer Christine Middlemiss highlighted how crucial the nation’s disease status is in the UK.
Ms Middlemiss stated that it helped to maintain the country’s high welfare standards but also commanded respect from across the globe, and it therefore mattered to the nation’s with whom the UK can trade with, helping drive profitability.
She also encouraged farmers to ensure they now make use of the schemes available to them to help protect flock health, including the Animal and Health Pathway scheme and its new Endemics diseases offering.
New project to control health and welfare of Wales’s sheep flock
With the chief vet in attendance, the event also included an announcement of NSA Cymru/Wales Region’s financial support for a new project led by the Wales Veterinary Science Centre (WVSC), which is taking control of the future health and welfare of Wales’s sheep flock.
The project, to test for iceberg diseases, such as Maedi-Visna, Johnes, CLA and hopefully Border disease, will make improvements in sheep health and welfare, improve disease control, specify agreed standards to ensure a level playing field, and create strong links with stakeholders like farmers, vets and consumers, the veterinary experts confirmed.
Joining the opening ceremony, Hazel Wright of WVSC said that they were pleased to be partnering with NSA for this and explained to the event audience the many challenging issues with iceberg diseases and why the new screening tests would be so valuable to farmers.
Iceberg diseases
Dr Kate Hovers, WVSC director, explained that iceberg diseases have been named this way because it is likely that the vast majority of infected stock remain hidden under the surface and that those sheep with visible signs or symptoms represent just the tip of the problem.
“By their very nature, iceberg diseases are difficult to control, and it can be very hard to identify infected animals,” she continued.
The clinical signs and symptoms associated with many iceberg diseases are often mild and vague at the start of the disease process and therefore animals may not appear to be ill until the disease is severe and has had an opportunity to spread throughout the flock.
This can cause production inefficiencies through persistent and long-lasting subclinical infection.
Dr Wright added that the WVSC was keen to ensure that sheep producers maximise returns from their flocks.
“The significant funding we received from NSA Cymru has allowed the WVSC to perform and validate Enferplex testing for sheep flocks and we are delighted to be able to add this vital service to our currenting testing repertoire.
“Data from other EU countries shows us that using Enferplex testing for iceberg diseases can lead to significant improvements in flock health and productivity; both at individual farm level and nationally. However, awareness and routine screening amongst the industry remains rather low,” she concluded.
Steps towards improved disease control
Funding provided by NSA Wales/Cymru Region will allow Wales’s Veterinary Science Centre to acquire vital equipment needed to offer sheep serology (blood) testing as a screening tool for flocks identifying these serious sheep diseases) that continue to have devastating effects on sheep flocks across Wales and beyond.
NSA Wales/Cymru development officer Helen Roberts said: “NSA Cymru is pleased to support this initiative, which we hope will not just benefit the Welsh sheep industry but the UK sector as a whole.
“The scheme to monitor and improve the health of sheep flocks in the UK offers strong hope that steps can be taken towards improved disease control and ultimate reduction of incidence.”
The sheep serology will be accessible once Wales’s Veterinary Science Centre (WVSC). It has purchased equipment and undertaken staff training.
The long-term view of the project is to work with stakeholders to create a national flock scheme, the experts concluded.
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