Vets join forces to set up Northwest group
Eleven vet practices in north-west England have joined forces to form a new vet group to help tackle disease.
Farm Vets Northwest comprises 110 vets based across practices in Cumbria, Lancashire and Yorkshire. The aim of the vet group is to take a leading role on disease surveillance on farm and, in turn, help farmer clients control disease.
David Catlow, of member practice Oakhill in Preston, Lancashire, says: “We felt that by working collectively with the links and the geographic spread we have, we could be at the forefront, sharing knowledge and experiences and being able to alert our clients as quickly as possible about the spread of disease and how we can implement control strategies, including vaccination when it becomes available.”
Farm Vets Northwest, working alongside MSD Animal Health, has already begun a programme of on-farm tests of dairy cattle and sheep to help determine the incidence of the Schmallenberg virus in the region.
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