Welsh farm leaders have welcomed the launch of a new project which aims to combat sheep scab outbreaks by offering funding to diagnose and treat infection.
The Gwaredu Scab project, launched this week, is funded by the Welsh government, with £1.5 million committed each year for a minimum of two years.
Led by land-based college Coleg Sir Gâr, the project, first announced in 2019, offers a completely free service from diagnosis through to whole flock treatment.
Sheep scab is a contagious disease which has significant welfare and economic consequences for affected farms.
Sheep scab is caused by the parasitic mite Psoroptes ovis and is easily transmitted between flocks.
Clinical signs of infection include mild to excessive scratching and itching, loss of wool, skin lesions, weight loss and, in extreme cases, mortality.
However, clinical signs alone are not sufficient to diagnose this disease and confirmation of disease can only be undertaken by skin scraping or antibody blood tests.
One benefit of the project is the use of technical officers to coordinate the testing process and, if required, approach surrounding farms to minimise the potential spread of the disease from farm to farm.
Responding to the project's launch, the Farmers' Union of Wales (FUW) said reducing the prevalence of the disease in Wales would "be of tremendous benefit" to the industry.
The union warned that a lack of a coordinated approach to treatment could result in "a great deal of wasted time and money".
FUW deputy head of policy, Dr Hazel Wright, said: “A failure to treat animals at the same time as your neighbours can mean animals becoming reinfected as the sheep scab mite can be transferred by direct contact with infected sheep or objects.
"We fully recognise the concerns which exist in relation to dipping and the withdrawal period following treatment.
"However, full engagement with this project will help protect the health and welfare of the Welsh national flock.
"We strongly encourage farmers with suspected scab to engage in this project to clear this infection from their flock and to reduce the chance of reinfection."
