Wales Farmer 6 NEWS


Brothers helppioneer teamsolution to scab


By Debbie James


WALES is forging ahead in its bid to eradicate sheep scab with anew industry-


led group. The Sheep ScabTask and


Finish Group hopes to makerec- ommendations to the Animal Health and WelfareSteering Group and Welsh Government ministers by the end of the year. The group consists of individ-


uals from the farming unions, vets and other leading industry and stakeholder experts. The formation of the group


follows an initiative led by broth- ers Dafydd and John Parry Jones, whorun asheep enterprise near Machynlleth. They pioneered aprogramme


involving 30 neighbouring sheep farmers with the aim of eradicat- ing scab, through co-ordinated preventive


treatment and


biosecurity. Twelvemonths agothe farm-


ers agreed to work together to control aproblem thatwas deci- mating their productivity. Since then they have shared


information on treatment plans and treated their flocks at the same time of the year,inJanuary. The Joneses,who have been


free of sheep scabinthe last year, inject with a60-daypersistency injectablemoxidectin product instead of dipping, because they areorganic producers. They admit thereare still cases


in the region butoverall the group –which runs around 10,000 ewes–has been successful in containing outbreaks. “Beforeweset this group up


TEAMWORK: Dafydd and John Parry Jones share information on their sheep scab treatment plans.


PICTURE: Debbie James.


we had been battling and treating sheep scablikeeveryone else and felt thatsomething needed to be done.Itseems to be working,’’ said Dafydd. The Joneses run similar enter-


prises on neighbouring farms and have 2,000 organic ewesbetween them. Part of the problem when con- trolling scabisthe windowof


opportunity forscabmites between the traditional use of OP dips by some farmers in the autumn, and the use of injectable scabtreatments by others pre- lambing. The productivity and welfare


implications of sheep scabcan be very serious and primary respon- sibility forcontrolling the disease still falls on the farmer.


The farmers in the group all


treatinJanuary,just beforelamb- ing. They had opted forthis peri- od and not the autumn because the withdrawal period on sheep dips would not suit afat lamb system. Therewereother reasons too,


butdifferent approaches will suit different systems. Not onlyissheep scabanani-


DAFYDD admits upland farmers don’t have a history of working together but said sheep scab was adisease that could not be tackled in isolation. Scab is especially prevalent in upland regions because flocks are frequently moved around for wintering or new stock is brought onto the farm. “With all the movements there is areal risk that scab will come in. It is one part of the flock health plan that you can’t control alone, you have to work with your neighbours to try to sort it out,’’ said Dafydd. “We don’t buy anything in or winter away from the farm but if we didn’t treat at the same time as everyone else we would become part of the problem.


mal health and welfareproblem butitcan jeopardise contracts with buyers. “For farmers likeuswho com-


mit lambs to be sold it can be very damaging if thereisscabin the flock. Youcan’t sell lambs if they have scab, it’ssimilar to being under movement restric- tions forbovine TB,’’Dafydd explained.


July 2012


Sheep cruelty leads to ban


MORE than 20 sheep were found dead on aLaugharne farmand others found in apoor condition, Carmarthen magistrates have been told. An animal health officer from


CarmarthenshireCounty Council and aveterinary officer from the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency visited Honey Corse Farm,Broadway, Laugharne,inSeptember 2011 following acomplaint regarding the condition of sheep there. They found around 25 sheep


carcases in various states of decomposition. Severalofthe live sheep were


in poor condition and found to be infested with maggots,and one wasinsuch apoor condition it washumanelydestroyed at the time to prevent anyfurther suffer- ing. The remaining sheep were treated and improved and later sold.


Owner of the sheep,Robert


Glen Davies,ofWoodlands Close,Llanmiloe,Pendine, appeared beforeCarmarthen magistrates forsentence after pleading guilty at an earlier hear- ing to nine offences under the Animal WelfareAct 2006 relating to neglect of animals in his care. He also pleaded guilty to an


offence under the Animal By- Products Regulations 2011. Davies wasbanned from own-


ing, keeping, transporting sheep and being involved with sheep in anyway forthree years. He wasalso sentenced to an 18-month community order,220 hours of unpaid work and ordered to payprosecution costs of £600.


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