The Ruminant Health and Welfare Group (RHWG) has recently published the results of its UK wide survey of farmers, stock people and vets.
The survey, which ran between November and December 2020, received a total of 662 responses, 76% of whom were farmers and 34% professionals including vets.
The top 5 disease priorities in sheep were footrot and CODD, both of which scored high in all regions, scab due to production and welfare issues, liver fluke particularly in North and Less Favoured Areas, and fly strike due to animal welfare issues with farmers scoring it higher than vets as it can be treated on farm.
For cattle, digital dermatitis was scored high by farmers and vets, BVD was scored higher in England, johne’s disease had a high impact in all regions, liver fluke was a particular concern of beef farmers, and viral pneumonia.
The findings of this survey will now be used to prioritise the work of the RHWG across the devolved nations.
The full report can be found here: https://ruminanthw.org.uk/health_welfare_survey