5October, 2001.
Millions of farm livestock could suffer andthousands of jobs could be threatened in the rural economy if an EU proposal toreclassify hundreds of animal medicines is adopted, warns the National Officeof Animal Health (NOAH).
The EU Commission has been looking at ways to makethe stringent approval procedures for medicines - both human and animal - workmore efficiently. Animal medicine manufacturers have been working with the Commission,the veterinary profession and both farm and animal health organisations, withthe aim of using this opportunity to improve the availability of medicines tokeep farm animals and pets healthy.
Much has already been achieved, but at the eleventhhour, and without consultation, the Commission has introduced a new clause toforce every medicine for food-producing animals to be classified as aPrescription-Only Medicine (POM), available only on veterinary prescription.This would destroy the long established and highly effective UK system, underwhich farmers and horse owners are able to purchase certain routine medicinesfrom their local trained and qualified merchant or saddler.
The products which would be affected include thoseused as part of normal herd health management. These include antiparasitics(used to control parasitic infestations such as liver fluke, tapeworms, liceand mites), some vaccines, topical ointments and antiseptics, such as teat dipsand foot sprays. Medicines used to treat horses would also be included withinthe changes: the horse is officially a food animal.
"The UK already has highly developed mechanismsin place to ensure the proper regulation, distribution and use of animalmedicines," says NOAH director Roger Cook. "All medicines for foodchain animals must have a Maximum Residue Limit (MRL) and a statutorywithdrawal period, to ensure no residues of that medicine end up in the food.The system works: residue figures, published quarterly by the UK Government,bear this out. Other member states aim to achieve the same end, but in adifferent way. The systems they have in place have grown up to fit in withlocal culture and types of farming."
Restricting the supply of medicines tothe veterinary profession could result in the closure of up to 1700 UK agricultural merchantsand saddlers, impose severe financial hardship for the owners, result inthousands of AMTRA-qualified persons and support staff losing their jobs, andfurther damage the socio-economic infrastructure of already hard-pressed ruralareas. Making it more difficult, more time consuming and possibly more expensive for livestock producers toobtain vital medicines would also lead to a black market, threatening animalwelfare and consumer safety.
"We are not saying that there should be afree-for-all situation regarding the sale of medicines", explained MrCook. "Far from it. There are well establishedcriteria for POM medicines already laid down in EU law, which we fully support.There needs to be veterinary expertise before antibiotics should be prescribed,for example. But limiting supply to vets wouldn't help prevent residues infood.
"Farmers are professionals, with a legal responsibility for producing safefood. As such, they should be able to obtain medicines from trainedprofessionals including, but not limited to, vets.
"The EC has presented no evidence to suggestthat these new anti-competitive proposals would do anything to enhance existingstandards of animal welfare or bring about improvements in consumer safety, butthey would destroy businesses in already depressed rural areas. NOAH thereforestrongly opposes this proposal and urges the UK Government and Members of theEuropean Parliament to take every available step to argue against the changes.
1. Furtherinformation is available from Roger Cook, Director, or Alison Glennon,Communications Manager, at NOAH. Tel: 020 8367 3131, or visit the NOAH website,http://www.noah.co.uk
2. TheNational Office of Animal Health was formed on 1 January 1986 to represent UKcompanies that research, develop, manufacture and market licensed animal healthproducts. The association has 38 corporate members and 11 associate members. In2000, NOAH's members accounted for around 95% of the 357-million UK animalhealth market, with additional valuable exports.
3. AMTRA,(the Animal Medicines Training Regulatory Authority), is an independentregulatory body, whose task it is to ensure that the marketing and distributionof animal medicines in the UK is undertaken in a responsible manner by AMTRAqualified persons.