Enforcement of the Veterinary Medicines legislation will require thousands of poultry owners to change the way they worm in the future, warns Janssen Animal Health. In the past many poultry keepers with small to medium sized flocks have used Flubenvet® 2.5% Medicated Premixture 240 gram pack. However, going forwards, it will no longer be possible to do so unless individuals (or companies) are approved and registered to mix medicines into feed. The Flubenvet® 1% 60 gram pack for domestic poultry launched in 2008 remains widely available and can still be used without having to register. Each 60 gram pack is suitable to treat around 20 chickens.
Background
The Veterinary Medicines Act governs how veterinary medicines are authorised, manufactured, supplied and used. The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) is the regulatory authority that looks at responsible, safe and effective use of veterinary medicines. The organisation defines a medicine as ’a substance or combination of substances presented as having properties for treating or preventing disease in animals.’ All products that make a claim to do this must be licensed by the VMD who must be satisfied with the portfolio of information provided to support the safety, quality and efficacy of the product and these medicines can be identified by a ’Vm’ or marketing authorisation number on the pack.
How the legislation affects worming of poultry
Under the legislation, the VMD have confirmed that medicated feed supplements that need to be mixed in greater than 30 Kg of animal feed (schedule 5 products), can no longer be supplied to veterinary practices, pharmacists or animal health retailers for them to sell unless they register as approved distributors of schedule 5 products - category 8 on the ’Register of approved Retailers Premises’. Most retail outlets do not register as category 8 distributors because they do not sell significant quantities of these products and there is also a cost involved in registering as a category 8 distributor that makes it unattractive to most merchants.
Registered retailers are also only able to sell medicated premixtures for mixing into more than 30kg of feed to customers who are specifically registered with the VMD to mix these into animal foods.
Janssen Animal Health vet Nigel Underwood confirmed the requirements "We are advising all poultry keepers of this legislation. We must comply with the law and are simply not able to supply unregistered wholesalers, merchants, pharmacies of vet practices with medicated premixtures unless they are approved.. The new 60 gram domestic poultry pack of Flubenvet® 1% was developed specifically for the smaller poultry owner and is exempt from the legislation. It is available from vets, pharmacists and suitably qualified animal health advisers and poultry owners do not have to be registered to use it."
