Perceptions and attitudes to sustainable roundworm control by European sheep farmers
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abstract
The sustainable control of gasto-intestinal nematodes remains one of the main perennial endemic disease pressures that farmers face with infections impacting on health, welfare and production efficiency of livestock. For over 50 years parasite control strategies in many countries relied heavily on suppressing nematode populations with frequent use of broad-spectrum anthelmintics. The effectiveness and availability of products across Europe is markedly different, but the need to maintain sustainable productivity is universal. As part of an EU COST action (COMBAR; https://www.combarca.eu) a questionnaire was disseminated to sheep farmers from European countries to gather information on: 1) farmer demographics and enterprise characteristics 2) general roundworm control/anthelmintic resistance attitude statements 3) knowledge and understanding questions 4) attitudinal statements regarding parasite control recommendation and 5) parasite control behaviours.