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Check Out Any Barren Ewes Using Subsidised Blood Test W ith sheep scanning well underway shepherds with a flock barren rate greater than two percent can now ask their vet for a subsidised blood test to establish whether the likely cause of the problem is toxoplasmosis. EXPERTIS™ Barren EweCheck – the diagnostic scheme supported by MSD Animal Health (known as Merck Animal Health in the United States and Canada) – is now available from vets until 31st March 2016. Toxoplasmosis is the main infectious cause of early embryo loss in sheep and a very common cause of barrenness, abortion and weak lambs born alive. Research has shown that almost all flocks in Great Britain have been in contact with the toxoplasma parasite, which means all breeding sheep should be considered at risk. According to MSD Animal Health technical manager, John Atkinson MRCVS, the main reason for such high levels of disease is that sheep can become infected very easily. “Sheep pick up the toxoplasma
parasite from the environment and so normal biosecurity measures are not enough to control the disease. Infected cats shed toxoplasma eggs in their faeces and sheep become infected when they ingest these eggs from contaminated pasture, feed and water. The eggs are tough and can survive in the environment for over a year, which means farmers need to
take steps to protect their sheep. “Fortunately, the disease can be controlled effectively by a simple vaccination regime. What’s more, the costs of a prevention programme can be easily covered by a reduction in future flock barren and abortion rates. Every ewe should be vaccinated before it breeds, simply because of the widespread disease
threat and the significant financial losses caused by toxoplasmosis,” he says. Producers concerned about a high proportion of empty ewes at scanning, or aborting ewes in the run up to lambing, should talk to their vet about the subsidised EXPERTIS Barren EweCheck service as soon as possible.
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SURVEY AIMS TO ASSESS LIVESTOCK PAIN MANAGEMENT N orbrook, one of the leading global pharmaceutical companies in farm animal healthcare, is conducting a survey of UK veterinary surgeons to establish attitudes of vets and farmers around pain management in livestock. The aim is to determine awareness levels of pain on-farm, and understand current pain management practices. “Since the Animal Welfare Act was introduced in 2006, the effective use of analgesics and anti-inflammatory treatments on farm has become more established as an important tool in good livestock husbandry, not only to achieve higher welfare standards but also to enhance productivity,” said Rebecca Laborne, Large Animal Product Manager for Norbrook. “However, pain can often be difficult to determine and diagnose, and we still don’t know to what extent pain management
is utilised on-farm. “The aim of this survey is to find out when and how pain is managed, both for ad hoc problems, such as lameness, and for routine procedures like disbudding and castration.” Vets throughout the UK are invited to complete the survey online, via this link. The survey consists of 11 key questions and should only take a few minutes to complete. All vets who complete it will be entered into a prize draw to win a £250 retail voucher, courtesy of Norbrook. “Once we have the data, the aim is to share the results of the survey with the wider veterinary and farming community, and to develop support materials and activities in any areas where a need is identified,” added Ms Laborne. To complete the survey, click https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/ lesspain