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FARM LIVESTOCK HEALTH & WELFARE
Keeping Animals Healthy
A healthy animal grows quickly, making the
best use of the food it is given, and will produce good quality meat, milk or eggs for
humans to eat and produce such as wool and leather for humans to use. A sick or suffering
animal will not grow quickly so it costs more to feed. It is in farmers' best interests to
make sure that the animals in their care are kept healthy throughout their lives.
Meat, milk and egg products from diseased animals are often not good enough to eat
because many diseases can affect the eating or keeping quality of the food product. In
some instances, it may even be unsafe to eat food from sick animals, which could be
carrying disease.
To ensure that animals are kept in the best possible conditions the Farm Animal Welfare
Council has issued Codes of Recommendation for each species which expand on general
welfare legislation.
These Codes indicate the general aims and likely future amendments to legislation. All say
"the basic requirement for the welfare of livestock is a husbandry system appropriate
to the health and, so far as is practicable, the behavioural needs of the animals, and a
high standard of stockmanship".
Animal Welfare and Animal Medicines
The Five FreedomsFarmers work
to a code of five freedoms for their animals:
- Freedom from hunger
- Freedom from thirst
- Freedom from pain
- Freedom from fear
- Freedom of movement
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Animals need medicines too. They suffer many similar diseases to humans. Mostly,
however, they suffer infectious diseases caused by bacteria or viruses, internal parasite
infestation, such as worms, and external parasites such as lice and mites. Like young
children, young animals catch infectious diseases such as colds, flu and stomach bugs, and
transfer parasites between themselves. Diseases can spread quickly between animals.
Because of the certainty of the transfer of disease, farmers want to protect their animals
against infection. They work with their vet to build up a programme of preventative
medicine for the animals. Disease causes suffering in individual animals and we should not
deny them medicines which prevent or reduce their suffering or prevent them getting
effective treatment.
Prevention is Better than Cure
For the animal, the best thing would be to prevent all illness. In many instances,
animal diseases can be prevented by vaccinations.
But for many diseases, effective vaccines just do not exist. So vets have to use other
classes of medicines, such as antibiotics. Nevertheless the same basic principle of
prevention still applies, which is why farm animals are given antiworm treatments
(anthelmintics) or coccidiostats.
Should the worst happen and disease strikes a herd or flock, it is important for animal
welfare that the spread of disease is prevented.
Sometimes people worry about the idea of giving animal medicines in their food or water,
but there are very good reasons for doing this - often, for example, because this method
involves less stress for the animals.
The law says every animal medicine must be carefully examined by independent experts
before it can be licensed for sale. Veterinary surgeons who dispense medicines and animal
health distributors who sell to farmers must be trained and qualified by examination.
Every time a farm animal is treated, its treatment must by law be recorded, and the animal
or its products (eggs or milk) may not enter the food chain until a specified period has
passed following medication (the withdrawal period).
Although it is true that things like housing design and some farm management practices can
affect the risk of some diseases, it is quite wrong to say that livestock would not suffer
from disease if they were kept in extensive outdoor systems or in organic conditions.
Infections and parasitic diseases still occur - though often for different reasons. For
example most cases of salmonella in eggs have been traced to free-range systems, where
wild birds have contaminated the feed and water. Most wild animals suffer from disease and
parasites.
Healthy Food from Healthy Animals
Healthy food comes from healthy animals and there are many aspects of keeping animals
well. Good stockmanship, identifying potential problems, working with the vet all play
their part. But, in the interests of welfare and good food, farm animals need medicines
too.
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