Volume 9, No. 1
BIOSECURITY - DANISH STYLE
By: Russ Schnepper, D.V.M.
I just returned from giving calf management presentations to over 120 Danish Large Animal Veterinarians in Denmark. I was not permitted by law to visit farms until I had been in Denmark for 48 hours. There are many procedures that are mandated by law. A dairyman can not give the initial treatment to a sick cow. A Veterinarian must diagnose and administer the first treatment. Then the Veterinarian dispenses exactly the amount of antibiotic, mastitis tubes, etc., that are required for that specific cow. A farmer can treat a calf himself if his Veterinarian has been on the farm in the past 30 days and has laid out a protocol for the problem. Veterinarians must perform dehorning and castrating, which must be under anesthesia. All treatments, diagnosis, quantities of drugs used, and Veterinary visits, are documented and reported to the government. I said our dairyman can not afford to pay a Veterinarian to treat every sick cow, and my Danish counterpart said, "The Danish farmer has no choice. It is the law."
The Danish government thought the livestock raisers were using too many antibiotics, so a law was passed making the Veterinarian responsible for all antibiotic usage. It has not worked the way the government thought. The Veterinarians are using more antibiotics than the farmers were. The prevalence of exotic diseases is another reason the government wants Veterinarians on the farms more often. It is felt that Foot and Mouth Disease would not have been as severe in England if Veterinarians had been on the infected farms more often. They would have recognized the problem before it became so widespread.
The Danes take their Biosecurity seriously. Every farmer keeps a pair of boots and coveralls on the farm for the use of their Veterinarian. This insures the Veterinarian is not tracking diseases from one farm to another.
Biosecurity becomes extremely important with the potential biochemical terrorism threat we are facing. Veterinarians, truckers, feed reps, salespeople, owners, hired help, uninvited guests, etc., are all capable of tracking in problems. We already have enough regular diseases we need to guard against besides the terrorism problem.
Every livestock operation should have work clothes and footwear that are not worn off the farm. Delivery personnel and all others should not enter the livestock areas without permission and appropriate attire. The common areas of the barns, that are frequented by other people, should be disinfected and washed down on a daily basis, or the personnel working in the barn will track the problems into the calves. Chlorine is not an appropriate disinfectant - it is easily neutralized by any organic matter such as manure or milk. Synergize or Tektrol are better choices for washing floors etc.
My Danish experience reminds me that it is important we handle medications appropriately, or we too may have laws that are political answers rather than scientific. Let's do it correctly and maybe we will be able to continue to make our own decisions.
Contact information for ordering information and questions about our products:
Schnepper International, Inc.
3162 County B, Platteville, WI 53818
608-348-6141, Fax: 608-348-6146
www.calfdoctor.com email: rschnep@mhtc.net