NSA’S fury at vet group’s ‘lack of consultation’
While agreeing that farmers should consider all the options before castrating or tail-docking their lambs, the National Sheep Association (NSA) this week voiced criticism of the vets’ professional body’s decision to publicise their thinking on the issue without consultation with the industry.
The practices have been a long-standing routine husbandry procedures to avoid young sheep becoming pregnant and the welfare issue of fly-strike – but whilst acknowledging these benefits,the British Veterinary Association (BVA) and the Sheep Veterinary Society (SVS) this week went public on a new position document which called for efforts to be made to reduce the need for such procedures.
In a press release, the two organisations said that to reduce the need for castration, farmers and vets should work closely and tailor their health and welfare plans where possible, to focus on getting their male flock to reach slaughter weight prior to sexual maturity and on preventive measures to separate young rams and ewes.
Speaking for the BVA, large animal vet James Russell said: “We know anecdotally that a number of farmers are successfully reducing these procedures in their flocks by using alternative measures.
“It is about striking a balance between a need for procedures such as these and the potential for them to cause pain.”
However he said that while it was important to shine a light on the issue, there was no way the profession wanted to be seen as telling the farming community how to do their job.
“But instead we want to encourage vets to work really closely with farmers on their animal health and welfare management plans,” he said. “That helps us to consider all of the options out there and frame castration and taildocking as the serious procedures that they are, meaning that they are used as more of a last resort, rather than first.”
Responding, NSA chief executive Phil Stocker said that at a time when farming organisations and environmental and welfare NGOS were all working more closely together, it appeared “a bit selfdefeating” that the BVA should release the statement without first having discussions with NSA or sheep health and welfare groups.
“There is a lot of work going on to strengthen the relationship between sheep vets and sheep farmers, and there are already many sheep farmers doing a risk assessment on the need for castration and tailing and making considered decisions on the need to carry out these operations,” said Stocker.
He said that the NSA was fully behind measured decision making – but added it was also highly aware of the possibility of unintended and worsened welfare outcomes: “The welfare implications of female lambs that are in lamb being presented for slaughter, and flystrike can be argued to be far worse than precautionary routine operations done under controlled conditions.”
Stocker said that the industry would however welcome practical and affordable forms of pain relief in order to raise welfare conditions: “And it would be better for BVA to put their energy into these solutions rather than publicly criticising existing solutions.”