Welfare

Following the launch of Defra’s Annual Health and Welfare Review last week, Katie Fallon looks at how farmers can get involved.

With unvaccinated livestock at risk of clostridial diseases, farmers are being urged to plan ahead for vaccine supply issues.

The Government is being urged to step up its testing of wild birds as experts fear returning seabirds could trigger a new wave of avian flu outbreaks.

A Somerset farmer has been fined and banned from keeping cattle for life after admitting causing unnecessary suffering to a calf.

The Animal and Plant Health Association (APHA) has announced that field trials for cattle vaccine and new skin test for Bovine Tuberculosis (TB) are moving onto the next phase, in the fight to eradicate the disease.

With lambing time on the horizon, vets offer a reminder of best practice with a focus on low antibiotic use, colostrum quality and ewe nutrition.

Mineral supplementation can be key to achieving optimum animal health and productivity. But what are the main minerals livestock farmers should be focusing on to avoid a shortfall? 

With livestock attacks once again in the news, it is important for farmers to know where they stand legally and the measures which they can take to protect their flocks.

Advice on how to prevent naval ill pre- and post-calving was offered by vet Ben Strugnell in a recent AHDB webinar.

A new test is in the final stages of development to identify calf immunity levels, in the hope of reducing antibiotic use within the calf rearing system.