Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1044434
11 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 28 OCTOBER 2018 JAMES DEBONO A LACK of Maltese vets could be pushing animal breeders to adopt less-than-cautious ways of medicating their animals. An audit report from the European Commission's food and veterinary office that lauds Malta for its own anti-microbi- al resistance strategy, has how- ever identified shortcomings in the dispensation of drugs to cure sick animals. The lack of veterinarians pre- scribing anti-microbial drugs for sick animals means breed- ers must necessarily buy over- the-counter drugs, with the risk that these drugs may be applied without any caution to animals. "These weaknesses, which seem to be further compounded by a lack of veterinarians, limit the knowledge about the situa- tion in Malta and seriously un- dermine the ability to ensure that antimicrobials are used in a prudent manner and only when considered necessary by a veter- inarian," the report concludes. According to officials of Mal- ta's Veterinary Regulation Di- rectorate, although there is a national policy on this medica- tion, in practice it is not man- datory for antimicrobials to be available only on prescription wholesalers or pharmacies. As a result of this, antimicrobials can be obtained from a range of sources including friends, oth- er farmers, visiting veterinar- ians from other Member States and direct personal imports. But the quantities of antimi- crobials not acquired through pharmacies is unknown and the VRD has noted an increase in packages believed to contain veterinary medicinal products which are detained on entry to Malta. This suggests that personal imports are becoming more important, presenting a chal- lenge for the prudent use of an- timicrobial drugs for animals. Vets used as last resort The Maltese government has now committed itself to strengthen the legal basis for a veterinary prescription and the legal distribution of veterinary drugs and the licensing system for wholesale dealers and phar- macies. Representatives of the Malta Veterinary Association and the pig and dairy cooperatives told the EC that Malta's relatively small farming sector, coupled with farmers' tendency to only call vets as a last resort, means it is often not financially worth- while to establish veterinary practices. One farmer visited by the FVO inspection said the vet who provided him with pre- scriptions for medicated feed every three months, rarely visited the farm to check the health status of the animals. And although other veteri- narians carried out such vis- its, they changed so frequently there was little chance for them to be familiar with the health status of the animals. The dairy cooperative howev- er said it had received financial support to fund a veterinary service for the sector. The FVO inspection also revealed that Malta's animal drugs' wholesaler stopped re- quiring prescriptions in 2016, and that based on sales re- ceipts, has been routinely sup- plying antimicrobials over-the- counter to farmers and to the general public. A test purchase carried out at a different pharmacy dur- ing the visit, showed that it was possible to obtain doxycycline tablets – an antibiotic used in the treatment of a number of types of infections from acne to syphilis – over the counter based on a "description of pos- sible signs of infection in a cat". This mean that decisions for the treatment of animals with antimicrobials, "the choice of medicine and the dosage are of- ten made by the animal keeper, rather than by veterinarians", the FVO said. Moreover, on the farms visit- ed, no records were available to show the use of veterinary me- dicinal products, so it was not possible to identify what anti- microbials were used and if this was done in accordance with the label. One farmer told the inspectors that he had obtained antimicrobials labelled in Ger- man from a neighbouring farm- er. The farmer could not under- stand German, so he could not be sure that the instructions for use were followed. All farmers in Malta are re- quired to nominate a veteri- narian responsible for animal health and welfare and a list of the nominated veterinar- ians is maintained by the VRD, a measure that safeguards against malpractice and misuse of antimicrobials. But it has been difficult for farmers to nominate a veteri- narian due to the low number of practising veterinarians. The Malta Veterinary Asso- ciation complains of a lack of legal protection for vets, whom they say should not be held re- sponsible for actions taken by farmers without their knowl- edge or agreement. The FVO however said it saw clear indications that farm- ers and vets are increasingly aware of anti-microbial resist- ance issues and do take steps to use antimicrobials more prudently. NEWS COURT NOTICE The Registrar of Civil Courts and Tribunals informs that the Civil Court, First Hall ordered the following sales by auction: Date Time Judicial Sale No Place Items 5 th November 2018 12.00pm 9/18- EM Neofarma Pharmaceuticals Limited vs John Cauchi Gera (ID237549M) et Courts of Justice, Triq ir- Repubblika, Valletta Dispensary licence numbered DL 160 issued on behalf Lister Pharmacy valued at €492,772. 14 th November 2018 11.00am 15/18- JGL J. Zammit Limited C37945 vs Raymond Gauci et. ID 245856M 'St James Court', Triq Is-Sienja, H'attard Vettura tat-tip Renault Megan bin-numru tar- reġistrazzjoni FCF 951. 21st November 2018 11.00am 16/18- AZ Frank Gollcher ID 452257M vs Anni 90 Ltd. C 10648 Factory Sub 001, Qasam Industrijali, San Ġwann Machine of the make Challenger 321 Vila Ildia Calibrated 4106228 of year 1997. Sanding machine LS- IN2A. Cutting machine of the make X Calibur model SS3000A. Forklifter of the make Fiat G233134540089 yellow and black in colour 944. Guillotine of the make MQJ310 light blue and white in colour. 28th November 2018 11.00am 10/18- EGL Strand Palace Agencies C3838 vs Target Group Malta Limited. C69676 17 Triq Id-Dejqa, Valletta Photocopier of the make Mashuatec grey in colour. Photocopier of the make Konica Minolta C253 black in colour. Photocopier of the make (Ecosys), Kyocera white in colour. Photocopier of the make Develop black and white in colour. Paper folder of the make Uchide grey in colour. Photocopier of the make Konica Minolta 1052 with monitor grey in colour. Chest freezer white in colour. Further details can be obtained from the website: http://www.justiceservices.gov.mt/courtservices/JudicialSales/search.aspx The bidders taking part in the auction must present their identity card Rudolph Marmara' For the Registrar Civil Courts and Tribunals Lack of vets raises concern over cautious use of animal drugs