On May 17, new legislation to modernise the Veterinary Medicines Regulations (VMR) 2013 came into force in Great Britain. This update represents the most significant change to legislation on veterinary medicines since 2013.
The changes ensure that high-quality, safe and effective veterinary medicines remain available to pig producers.
They also promote the responsible use of veterinary medicines, which is crucial in building on our success in combating antimicrobial resistance.
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The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) protects animal health, public health and the environment by assuring the safety, quality and efficacy of veterinary medicines.
The VMR 2013 (as amended) outlines the legal controls on veterinary medicines, including their marketing, manufacturing, supply, prescribing and use.
Key changes for producers
Much of the legislation remains unchanged, including the existing rules on what records need to be kept by keepers of food-producing animals. However, there are a few areas relevant to pig producers:
Medicated feed: The updated legislation clarifies that no veterinary medicine product, including medicated feed, can be supplied beyond its expiry date.
Pig producers must ensure that:
- Veterinary medicines are stored according to the product label and summary of product characteristics, including refrigerated medicines.
- There is no cross-contamination between products.
- There is no cross-contamination between products and any feedstuff or feed material.
- No veterinary medicine product escapes into the environment.
- Veterinary medicine products are administered only to correctly identified animals, as per the prescription.
- They comply with the withdrawal period stated for the product.
Routine antibiotics use: The new regulations aim to reduce unnecessary antibiotics use in animals, helping to mitigate antibiotics resistance and ensure antibiotics remain effective for treating bacterial infections in both humans and animals.
Veterinary surgeons cannot prescribe antibiotics to:
- Be used routinely.
- Compensate for poor hygiene, inadequate animal husbandry or poor farm management practices.
Preventative use: It is important not to routinely use antibiotics preventatively, as this can also contribute to increased levels of antibiotics resistance. Prophylactic use is now, therefore, only allowed in exceptional circumstances where:
- The risk of infection or disease is very high.
- The consequences of not prescribing are likely to be severe.
For groups of animals, prophylactic use is permitted only if:
- The rationale is clearly recorded by the prescribing vet.
- A management review by the vet is promptly carried out to identify and implement measures to control the infection or disease, aiming to eliminate future prophylactic use.
Antibiotics use data: The VMD collects and reports sales data for antibiotic vet medicines annually. This data helps measure trends, encourage responsible prescribing and set targets for reducing use.
While voluntary data collection has been effective and will continue for now, the updated regulations allow the secretary of state to mandate vets, keepers of food-producing animals and feedmills to provide antibiotics use data, and non-compliance with such a request is now an offence.
In-feed antibiotics: Administering antibiotics in feed can be convenient, but it can result in a delay in starting treatment. Therefore, in-feed antibiotics must be administered promptly. They should also not be prescribed for longer than necessary to reduce the risk of antibiotics resistance.
We have, therefore, brought in the following restrictions relating to feed medicated with antibiotics:
- Treatment must start five working days from prescription issuance.
- A prescription must not authorise more than one course of treatment.
Record-keeping: Vets must now provide owners with records as soon as reasonably practical after administering a medicine to a food-producing animal, so they are aware of the required withdrawal periods.
Find more information on the Veterinary Medicines Regulations online.
