Abstract
The dilemma in the September issue concerned an ‘off colour’ alpaca
in a paddock next to the one you were working in; you were attending to
one of your client’s sheep. The owner told you that the alpaca had been
‘off colour’ recently, but when you offered to examine the animal, the
owner refused. You were aware that the area had a high rate of TB and
had recently had a TB breakdown in a group of alpacas (IP, September
2015, vol 37, pp 430-431). Andrea Turner suggested that a possible way
forward might be to phone the owner in a couple of days to check up on
the animal. If there was no improvement or the animal had deteriorated,
and the owner still refused a visit, you could highlight that the welfare of
the animal was likely to have been compromised and that it was possible
that it might be suffering from bovine TB. Biosecurity and isolation of the
animal should be discussed, along with the possibility of voluntary TB
testing. Mentioning that the RSPCA might have to be involved on animal
welfare grounds, or the APHA due to potential TB infection, might be
enough to persuade the owner to allow you to examine the animal.
in a paddock next to the one you were working in; you were attending to
one of your client’s sheep. The owner told you that the alpaca had been
‘off colour’ recently, but when you offered to examine the animal, the
owner refused. You were aware that the area had a high rate of TB and
had recently had a TB breakdown in a group of alpacas (IP, September
2015, vol 37, pp 430-431). Andrea Turner suggested that a possible way
forward might be to phone the owner in a couple of days to check up on
the animal. If there was no improvement or the animal had deteriorated,
and the owner still refused a visit, you could highlight that the welfare of
the animal was likely to have been compromised and that it was possible
that it might be suffering from bovine TB. Biosecurity and isolation of the
animal should be discussed, along with the possibility of voluntary TB
testing. Mentioning that the RSPCA might have to be involved on animal
welfare grounds, or the APHA due to potential TB infection, might be
enough to persuade the owner to allow you to examine the animal.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 487 |
| Number of pages | 1 |
| Journal | In Practice |
| Volume | 37 |
| Issue number | 9 |
| DOIs |
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| Publication status | Published - 1 Oct 2015 |