The Sustainable Control of Parasites in Sheep (SCOPS) is urging farmers to take care when using wormers and flukicides containing closantel, after it said it received a small number of reports of overdosing.
Giving an animal too much closantel can cause permanent blindness, it said, which has happened on some sheep farms in recent months.
Speaking on behalf of SCOPS, independent sheep advisor Lesley Stubbings, said: “The safe use of animal medicines relies on all the instructions for use being followed as per the label – and we know a key issue is ensuring animals receive the correct dose.
“As with all products, animals need to be dosed with closantel according to their weight.
“Because of the risks posed by overdosing with closantel, SCOPS urges sheep farmers to split a group if the weight variation is large, grouping sheep into weight bands and altering the dose rate accordingly.
“That is safer than dosing to the heaviest animal and administering too much closantel to small animals.”
Closantel
SCOPS said it encourages producers to report any “adverse reaction” to closantel in treated animals to the Veterinary Medicines Directorate.
Closantel is active in the following:
- Supaverm;
- Flukiver;
- Solantel;
- Closamectin;
- Closiver.
The full list of products that can be used to treat internal parasites is on the SCOPS website, and the group has highlighted the active for each.
“Closantel is an important active in the control of internal parasites,” Stubbings said.
“This isn’t a recommendation to avoid the product – just a reminder of the risks of not weighing animals and giving them too much.”
