Resistance to anthelmintics in sheep gastrointestinal parasites has reached critical levels in the UK. Sustainable parasite management is both a welfare and a veterinary medicine preservation priority.
The welfare implications of anthelmintic resistance are profound — farms where all drug classes fail face sheep dying from parasitism without any treatment option. This scenario is not hypothetical but current reality on some UK farms. Sustainable parasite management through TST, refugia management and strategic use of multiple drug classes is the only way to preserve treatment efficacy for future generations of sheep. Welfare and drug stewardship are inseparable.