The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has announced that they have seized a quantity of illegal veterinary medicines.
The parcel was addressed to residential premises in Antrim and was shipped from Singapore.
The parcel contained one box containing 10 140g sachets of AbPrazole granules This product is intended for use in horses and is not an authorised veterinary medicine in the UK.
The medicines were seized under Regulation 25 (Importation of unauthorised veterinary medicinal products) of the Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2013.
DAERA wishes to remind livestock farmers of their responsibilities in relation to the use of veterinary medicines on their farms.
Good management, housing, hygiene and nutrition, are essential to ensuring the health and welfare of livestock and the profitability of farm businesses.
On occasions veterinary medicines can be a costly but necessary input in livestock farming.
Illegal veterinary medicines can threaten safety
However, careless or illegal use of medicines on the farm can threaten consumer safety and may damage the reputation of local produce, negatively impacting on trade.
The use of antimicrobials in agriculture is coming under increased scrutiny due to the link with antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in humans.
AMR is a severe problem in human medicine and has prompted concerns that resistant bacteria could be transferred from livestock to the human population.
