Book of Abstracts
11th IFOAM
Scientific Conference
11-15 August 1996
Copenhagen, Denmark

Abstract front page
Subject index
Athor index

Extra Papers

Regulations of Veterinary Drugs E7

Striezel, A.; Plate, P. .

Gesellschaft für Ökologische Tierhaltung, Atzelsberger Strasse 10, D-91094 Bräuningshof, Germany

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Specific regulations on veterinary drugs in organic farming are necessary as a complete ban on synthetic drugs would adversely affect animal welfare. The regulations of drugs, however, must be far more restrictive than the law, keeping in mind the main targets of organic animal husbandry: product quality, animal welfare and environmental matters. Some regulations of the German »Bioland« organisation based on each of these criteria are specified, as: 1. Product quality: All growth promotors are excluded as they can affect human health either directly as residues (e.g. clenbuterol), or indirectly by selecting resistant bacteria, making later antibiotic therapy of human disease ineffective (antibiotics, e.g. avoparcin).

2. Animal welfare: Prohibited are drugs which cause pain and tissue damage on the injection site (e.g. some long acting oxytetracycline preparations) as well as the use of drugs to prevent economically adverse effects of inadequate housing or transport conditions. Accordingly the use of sedatives is restricted to exceptional situations under veterinary supervision.

3. Environmental effects: Adverse environmental effects of drug usage can be caused by the way of application: dips and sprays may release great quantities of toxic substances in the environment. Other problems can be caused by excreted drugs. The best known example is the antiparasitic drug ivermectin, which is exreted in the faeces, killing dung occupying insects for some weeks and sometimes delaying the decomposition of dung. Therefore the use of ivermectin is yet restricted to exceptional treatment of single animals with concurrently endo- and ectoparasitic disease. New developments of drugs make a review of these regulations necessary: the use of ivermectin should be prohibited completely as well as the use of the later drugs abamectin and doramectin. Instead the new drug moxidectin, being at least as effective without adverse effects on the dung fauna in comparative studies, can replace these drugs.

Klare, I.; Heier, H.; Claus, H.; Reissbrodt, R. & Witte, W. (1995): vanA-mediated high-level glycopeptide resistance in Enterococcus faecium from animal husbandry. FEMS Microbiology Letters, 125, 165-172.

Strong, L. & Wall, R. (1994): Effects of ivermectin and moxidectin on the insects of cattle dung. Bulletin of Entomological Research, 84, 403-409.