Best practice prescribing for husbandry procedures in livestock

Authors: Batey R
Publication: Proceedings of the Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) Annual Conferences, Volume 2014 AVA Annual Conference, Perth, Issue Industry / Sheep, May 2014
Publisher: Australian Veterinary Association

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Abstract: Restricted medications are being advocated or used to facilitate handling of or to minimise harm or pain for animals, and to ensure occupational safety for those handling livestock. A report for the Australian Animal Welfare Strategy (AAWS) identified 3/8 regular husbandry procedures in cattle, 3/5 in sheep and 3/6 in pigs as major or extreme on the basis of pain or tissue damage (C Buller, unpublished data, 2011). Ten restricted chemicals were suggested as being potentially useful for pain relief although some are not currently registered for use in livestock in Australia. It is therefore likely that new products will need to be registered, and that veterinarians will be required to supply prescription animal remedies (PAR’s) for this purpose. Since 2002, acepromazine (ACP) has been routinely used in Western Australia (WA) to minimise the risk to shearers when handling rams at shearing. The sources of risk have been identified and discussed (Batey 2010),1 and it was deemed appropriate to evaluate this established use of a PAR to identify issues which may indicate or affect best practice prescribing for routine husbandry purposes.

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