NOAH updates medicine training for farmers
The updated training focuses more on areas such as vaccination and biosecurity.
The National Office of Animal Health (NOAH) has updated its Animal Medicines Best Practice training for dairy, beef and sheep farmers.
The programme, created in partnership with the awarding organisation Lantra, provides farmers with training in the safe and responsible use of medicines.
The revised training puts more emphasis on biosecurity and disease prevention. It includes more on the measures that farmers can take to prevent diseases from entering their farms and the importance of high welfare standards.
The updated course also includes more information on using anthelmintics responsibly and the appropriate use of vaccines. The way the content is presented has been changed to make it more interactive for the user.
On successfully completing the course, a Certificate of Training is issued that can be used by farmers for Red Tractor assessment.
Dawn Howard, NOAH chief executive, said: “Years of collaborative work, focused on the responsible use of antibiotics, has shown how livestock farmers, working with their vets, can achieve ambitious targets and reduce the need to treat with antibiotics whilst maintaining the health and welfare of livestock.
“Our updated training will provide even greater support to farmers on disease prevention, through measures such as vaccination and biosecurity. UK farmers supply high quality, nutritious and safe food, and this programme will offer them even better support as they produce this food from healthy animals more sustainably.”
More information on the Animal Medicines Best Practice programme can be found on NOAH's website.
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Veterinary practices are being urged to help owners safely dispose of any unused and expired pet medicines - not just antibiotics - during November's Animal Medicines Amnesty. 
