Ceva Animal Health is calling on vets to talk to dairy farmers about the role of NSAIDs after hosting a conference at which many vets said they assumed that farmers know what NSAIDs are, but at the same time reported that even proficient and knowledgeable farmers were confused between antibiotics and NSAIDs!

In addition, some delegates at the ‘Break the Pain Conference and Round Table’ event, which took place last month, said that they sometimes assume that farmers are worried about the cost of medication, which discouraged them from talking about it.

Katherine Timms, ruminant veterinary advisor at Ceva Animal Health, which manufactures the NSAID Ketofen, said: “The Stride UK dairy mobility report 2024 revealed that 7% of dairy farmers were not using NSAIDs in any lame cow, yet foot care and lameness management should be included in their herd health plans to meet the Red Tractor Dairy Standards and the standards of their milk buyer.

“Farmers want an easy and cost-effective solution when it comes to offering pain relief to their herds due to other priorities on farm and using NSAIDs strategically have shown a substantial return on investment of £1.66 for every £1 invested1

"Vets should be leading discussions on pain relief to change their clients’ mindset with the goal of providing gold standard care for the long-term health and welfare of the nation’s herd.”

Sam Bowker, vet surgeon at Blackdown Farm Vets in Devon, who attended the conference, said: “It was a good challenge to us as vets to lead on the use of NSAIDs and pain relief on farm.

"We had a good discussion about protocols we have in the practice, particularly around the use of pain relief when called to assisted calvings and all agreed to use them ongoing. 

"The other good reminder was not to assume that farmers won’t want to give pain relief because of cost, and to consider both the welfare and production benefits of their use.”

www.wavegoodbyetopain.co.uk

Reference

  1. Wilson JP, Green MJ, Randall LV et al.  Effects of routine treatment with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs at calving and when lame on the future probability of lameness and culling in dairy cows: a randomised controlled trial.  J Dairy Sci. 2022; 105(7):6041-6054.  https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2021-21329 

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