Make use of all wormer groups, farmers urged

In an open letter to industry, the National Sheep Association (NSA), SCOPS, Moredun and the Sheep Veterinary Society (SVS) is urging more sheep farmers to follow SCOPS advice and integrate the two newer groups into their worm control programmes.

SCOPS advises that the group 4-AD and 5-SI wormers should be used as quarantine treatments for all incoming sheep and as a one-off treatment for lambs, in the latter part of the grazing season. The idea being that the two newer wormer groups are not left underutilised until other groups, 1-BZ [white], 2-LV [yellow] and 3-ML [clear], are no longer effective.

Speaking in a webinar hostes by NSA, Moredun and Elanco, Dr David Bartley of Moredun highlighted a lack of effective quarantine treatment among drivers of resistance.

Mr Bartley said: “If new or returning animals are not effectively treated when returning on-farm, the danger is bringing in resistance or other parasites which were not there before.

“The current advice for returning stock [when it comes to wormers] is to treat with a 4-AD and 5-SI separately, ideally then hold these animals off pasture for 24-48 hours and, if possible, to then turn out on to higher challenge pasture to avoid any potential contamination of lower challenge areas.”

Matt Colston of Elanco later reiterated SCOPS advice, saying that group 4-AD and 5-SI wormers should be included in the worm control plan for all farms now, before there is an obvious failure of the other three groups available.