Ruminant Health and Welfare (RH&W) has welcomed the focus placed on livestock vaccination as an integral part of herd and flock health management following the launch of NOAH’s campaign to promote the Livestock Vaccination Guideline.
The group believes vaccination is key – along with good management, husbandry, nutrition and biosecurity – in preventing and controlling endemic diseases.
It is clear that vaccines are currently underutilised with uptake for the prevention of priority livestock diseases still low. That is, why RH&W believes it’s important that the industry considers how we change the mind set and approach to proactive vaccination strategies on-farm.
Increased uptake of the NOAH category one vaccines – such as those for BVD, IBR and clostridial disease – will help to improve animal welfare and increase the productivity of the UK’s national herd and flock.
There is also evidence to support the important role vaccines play in reducing Green House Gas (GHG) emissions and Antimicrobial Use AMU.
The RH&W group supports an active, regular discussion between farmers and their vets and Suitably Qualified Persons (SQPs) /Registered Animal Medicine Advisors (RAMAs) to enable farmers to make the best preventative health decisions for their farm and livestock.
The group believes that discussion should include what vaccines are appropriate for the farm. The discussion should also cover the correct use, storage and administration of those vaccines, and how they are only one part of disease prevention. It is essential that vaccines are not seen as a silver bullet and MUST be considered along with other management practices.
The NOAH Livestock Vaccination Guideline demonstrates the current thinking for a proactive approach to vaccination.
As a resource for the industry, the Guideline provides information to support herd and flock health planning discussions and on-farm decision making, recommending the diseases to manage, and vaccines available.
There are dairy, beef and sheep sector specific on-farm guides available about the priority diseases and recommended category one vaccines.
To download the NOAH Livestock Vaccination Guideline, please follow this link.