Animal health campaign offers on-farm vaccination guides
© Tim Scrivener Farmers, vets and industry professionals are being encouraged to pledge their support for a new Livestock Vaccination Guideline.
This is part of a campaign to promote a shift in how vaccines are used by the dairy, beef and sheep sectors.
The guideline has been produced by the National Office of Animal Health (Noah), in collaboration with veterinarian experts.
See also: Sheep vaccines: 5 steps to using them effectively
Noah’s aim is to provide direct support on farm to improve welfare, productivity, and sustainability.
Industry professionals will also have access to information needed to make decisions on vaccinating their animals, based on a preventative health approach.
Those who sign up to the pledge will receive a sector-specific on-farm guide based on the advice in the guideline.
The guide will include clinical experience, the latest research and the best practice for taking a proactive approach to vaccinations.
In exchange, farmers are asked to share and implement the recommendations.
Strategic approach
“A strategic- and industry-wide approach to vaccinating livestock is an important part of ensuring that our animals are healthy,” said Dawn Howard, chief executive of Noah.
“Healthy animals means better welfare, higher productivity and more sustainable farming.”
The sector-specific guides will enable vets, suitably qualified persons (SQPs) and farmers to work together to prevent zoonotic diseases and improve farm resilience, said Ms Howard.
Healthy, vaccinated animals are more likely to stay well, produce more and are less likely to need treatment with antibiotics, she added.
“We are aiming to change the mindset and approach towards proactive vaccination strategies on farms.
“By bringing the UK sheep, beef and dairy sectors together with a common commitment to livestock vaccination, as set out in the guideline, we hope to fully realise the benefits of the preventive health approach – both on individual farms and in the UK livestock population as a whole,” she said.
How to sign up
Those wanting to pledge their support can sign-up online.