The Responsible use of Medicines in Agriculture (RUMA) Alliance has launched an online survey designed to gather insights from vets, farmers and SQPs about the vaccines shortages that have been a growing source of concern for UK livestock sectors over recent years.
Vets, farmers and SQPs are all encouraged to share any vaccine supply insights by answering a set of questions that aim to build a picture of what supply challenges each sector has been facing, and the short- and long-term impacts of these disruption issues.
Cat McLaughlin, RUMA Agriculture chair, said: “Vaccine shortages and disruption to supply, is not something that can be solved overnight.
“We know this is a complex area with many variables at play, and therefore we want to use the insights we gather from this survey to work directly with livestock sectors and the roles that work in the industry, to explore the best way to ‘cope with’ shortages until solutions can be found for the medium and long term.”
“What we do know is that delays in vaccinations can lead to an increased risk of disease outbreaks, and this can be a source of much worry for animal owners, SQPs and veterinary practices who are working hard to maintain the high standards of animal welfare that the UK is known for.
“We have listened to the concerns of our members and that’s why we are launching this survey – the insights from which will enable RUMA Agriculture to work directly with affected sectors to explore what management strategies can be developed to help ensure everyone is as prepared as they can be to respond to supply issues when they do occur.”
Responses to the survey are anonymous. In due course RUMA Agriculture will publish anonymised headline findings to help support the ongoing focus on addressing vaccines shortages.
The RUMA survey is now live – and can be accessed by clicking here. It will close on Friday, June 27, at 5pm.
