Fivefold cut in foot-rot achievable

摘要

Proper management of foot-rot could cut national lameness levels from one in 10 to one in 50 sheep, according to researchers at Warwick University. It is estimated nine million sheep are lame a year, 90% of which is due to foot-rot, and at a cost to the industry of E80m a year, explained Laura Green, who has been leading the research. "We have found that prompt treatment with an antibiotic means foot-rot can be cured within three to five days. By using this one single treatment we believe it is possible to maintain the prevalence of lameness at below 2%, a reduction from the current average of 10%," she said.