Antibiotic Usage in Sheep: Survey of sheep flock owners

* 1. Thank you for your interest in our survey about antimicrobial usage in Scottish sheep flocks.

Why we would like you to complete this survey:

Currently very little is known about the amount of antibiotics used in the British sheep flock. This makes it difficult for the sheep industry to demonstrate that usage within the sector is low and to support claims that antibiotics are being used responsibly in sheep. This is becoming increasingly important both to facilitate trade and to meet statutory reporting requirements at a national level.

A core set of standard metrics has been identified by the Sheep Health and Welfare Group. If these are recorded, they can be used for two purposes, firstly to enable farm benchmarking and secondly to provide a national reporting figure.

Please help us to help you.

The aim of this study is to investigate how feasible and practical it would be for sheep-flock owners and/or their vets to provide these core metrics and what might be needed to make it easier for them to do so.

How are we doing this?

This survey is being distributed to farmers through social media. The questions are a mixture of yes/no, multiple choice and short answer. Some of the questions may require you to consult your records.

We estimate that it will take a maximum of 30 minutes to complete. Ideally, the person most involved with the sheep should provide the responses.

A slightly different survey has been distributed to large animal veterinary practices across Scotland. The results of the study will help to inform discussions, at industry and national level, about the adoption and development of these metrics. The more responses we receive the better we can represent you.

Have your say now.