New Welshpool Livestock Auction Market Leads The Way
Investing for the future – new Welshpool livestock auction market leads the way
“Survey any group of sheep farmers today and you will invariably find some who
aren’t happy with the growth of their lambs despite regular worming,” he said.
“Often this is the first indication of anthelminitic resistance in a flock.
“One of our sheep farmers has experienced major problems with resistance to all
three of the currently available groups of wormers. At this late stage
maintaining effective worm control and acceptable flock performance is very
difficult.
“On many farms, wormers still appear to be clinically effective despite evidence
of widespread resistance from scientific surveys. It is important to remember
that it’s at this early stage, when resistance may be detectable in the
laboratory but not yet apparent to farmers, that adopting the new worm control
strategies could have the greatest impact on the development of resistance.”
Mike Glover discussed these new strategies with fellow sheep vets from the South
West at one of the recent Resistance Management workshops sponsored by Novartis
Animal Health.
“It’s not too late to halt the development of anthelmintic resistance,” Novartis
Animal Health’s Veterinary Adviser Simon Harris explains. “SCOPS [Sustainable
Control of Parasites] has identified eight principles that, if put in place, can
help ensure farmers can continue using anthelmintics effectively. These include
identifying your own resistance status, maintaining a population of susceptible
“in refugia” worms, using quarantine treatments and using targeted selective
treatments.”
Mr Glover agrees. “Awareness is absolutely vital. The key message is to test for
resistance now, find out which drenches are working, and seek advice about
implementing the SCOPS principles before worm control fails.”