Cattle vets to lead antibiotic data collection

Cattle vets are being urged to lead efforts to populate the new national Medicine Hub with farm antibiotic data.

A call to action was due to be made during BCVA Congress, which got under way in Newport, south Wales today (14 October, on until 16 October), with vets urged to help dairy, beef and sheep clients register on the hub before the end of the year.

Although UK farms are, according to the European Medicines Agency, among the lowest users of antibiotics in Europe – especially in the pig, poultry and aquaculture sectors – dairy, beef and sheep sectors have struggled to evidence responsible use at a national level.

Secure hub

Developed by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, the industry-led Medicine Hub will be a safe and secure repository for accumulating and sharing antibiotic data from varied sources. Technology is also being developed to collect data from Welsh, Northern Ireland and Scottish schemes.

Both the BCVA and the Sheep Veterinary Society have promoted the hub in the past few months, and Rachel Hayton, who chair’s the Medicine Hub’s industry liaison group, will be speaking at congress about how it will evolve.

Targets

Mrs Hayton said: “We need to consider UK producers’ reputation and accountability, and meet new national antibiotic use targets agreed by vets and producers through the RUMA Targets Task Force in November 2020.

“We know both vets and farmers have been committed to raising the bar on responsible use of antibiotics – we want them to be able to prove this.”

Under EU rule changes, member countries will have to provide information on antibiotic use in cattle from 2023 and sheep from 2026. This will directly impact Northern Ireland, but also producers elsewhere in the UK if trade deals in the EU are sought.

More about the Medicine Hub is available online.