Helath care and medication use in organic livestock production

Abstract

The basic principle of animal health care in organic production is the prevention of diseases, because according to legal regulations in this area, treatment of animals is by far more restrictive compared to conventional breeding. In the context of prevention (as the primary aspect of health control) two main groups of measures can be distinguished. The first group relates to breeding local, autochthonous, and evolutionarily adapted breeds/strains. Current experience on health problems in organic production of dairy cows and sheep showed that particular attention should be focused on favoring cows that show resistance to mastitis pathogens and sheep resilient to parasitic infections. The choice of local, adapted and more resistant animals, can significantly reduce the negative effect of stress in the interaction of the genotype and environmental factors (GxE), which is of great importance for the performance of production. Another group of preventive measures include adequate accommodation, food from local sources, movement, pasture management, and zootechnic measures. In addition to the preventive measures, in organic production the diseased animals undergo strictly defined procedures regarding the implementation of therapy. In the treatment of animals in organic production, preference is given to phytopreparations, homeopathic and immunological products. Only if their use is not effective conventional drugs may be included. In this case, the legal regulations require a protocol, which gives special importance to the number of treatments and withdrawal period. The safety of the antimicrobial and antiparasitic drugs, in general, is one of the most important factors in the treatment of animals, especially in animals that are found in organic production. Unfortunately, today there is no absolutely safe drug. Therefore, the correct drug selection and the manner of its application, should contribute to a safer and more efficient action.