Self-medication of ruminants in tethered husbandry systems

• Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forests, Fiji
• National Dairy Development Board, India

Gastrointestinal parasites of ruminants in India, Fiji and Sri Lanka cause estimated annual mortalities ranging from 25 to 50%. Losses induced by parasite infections could thus equal the value of the present output of ruminant-based industries there, but current Western measures to counter the helminths and flukes may not be readily applicable.

Provision of nutritional supplements in block form offers an ideal means of delivering anthelmintic to livestock. And, since ACIAR Project 8601 already covers production and delivery of molasses-urea blocks to fulfill nutritional requirements in India, parasite control there should cost only the price of the generic anthelmintic.

The present project is aimed at developing a medicated block to control gastrointestinal helminths and is designed to build on the logistic support provided by ongoing ACIAR projects. It will use the older and less expensive anthelmintics that are no longer covered by patent rights. Since tethered animals lick the molasses-urea blocks frequently, they would receive a daily dose of the incorporated anthelmintic - considerably enhancing its efficiency relative to a single dose of the same chemical.

Scientists at Armidale will seek ways to incorporate anthelmintic into molasses-urea blocks without loss of its activity, to determine effective dose rates against nematodes and liver fluke in cattle, goats and sheep and thus to formulate suitable medicated blocks. A training program for people from collaborating countries will cover quality control of medicated-block production and efficient use of the blocks, and will transfer the technology of medicated-block formulation. Additional experiments will determine the blocks' effectiveness against anthelmintic-resistant parasites in the developing countries.

In India, the National Dairy Development Board will determine epidemiology of parasitic infection in the tethered husbandry system operating in villages in the Kaira District Cooperative and establish final dose rates to control internal parasites in buffalo. Its members will also apply formulation techniques to commercial-scale manufacture of medicated blocks in India, set up quality control for testing the blocks and develop and test sustainable control strategies for their use in Kaira villages. At the Central Institute for Research on Buffalo, scientists will determine the seasonal incidence of major parasites on buffalo in Haryana State and establish final dose rates needed for control.

In Fiji, the Ministry for Primary Industries is determining epidemiology of parasitic infections in small ruminants there, as part of Project 8418, establishing dose rates to control infections and testing sustainable control strategies. If blocks formulated in Australia for use in Fiji prove successful in a control program there, a supplementary application for funds will be made, to cover commercial-scale formulation and quality control as in India.

In Sri Lanka, teams at the University of Peradeniya and at the Department of Animal Production and Health will similarly develop and test sustainable control strategies based on anthelmintic blocks and determine final dose rates for buffalo and cattle in that country. Medicated blocks will come initially from Australia and later from India. Depending on the outcome of these trials, Sri Lanka may undertake domestic production.

The project could benefit a wide range of countries with tethered husbandry systems, increasing production of meat and milk from buffaloes, cattle, goats and sheep.