One hit for blowflies
One hit for blowflies
SHEEP producers in areas with a long blowfly strike season should only need to treat sheep once to prevent the condition following the launch of a pour-on.
Current products protect against strike for up to 10 weeks, but a survey conducted by Novartis Animal Health revealed producers, particularly in warm, wet lowland areas required extended protection, according to Lynda Maris of the company.
"Of 400 producers interviewed, 41% said they wanted more than 11 weeks blowfly protection for their lambs. Some producers were playing Russian Roulette with welfare by waiting as long as they dared before treating sheep, just to try to avoid having to treat them a second time."
With producers increasingly in the public eye, the welfare implications of blowfly strike cannot be ignored, says Peter Bates of the Vet Laboratories Agency. In 2000, 15 producers were prosecuted because of a blowfly strike.
Protection against blowfly for 16 weeks is offered by CliK, which can be purchased through merchants, says Mrs Maris. The product costs 4p/lamb/week of protection. s *
This compares with 7.5p/ewe/week of protection and 4.5p/lamb for the companys other blowfly prevention pour-on, Vetrazin which gives 10 weeks protection. "However, Vetrazin may work out cheaper for producers in upland areas where blowfly seasons tend to be shorter."
Mrs Maris warns both products are for prevention only and cannot be used to treat sheep already infected with blowfly.