Guidance

Vets: testing sheep for animal health and welfare review

Updated 14 October 2024

Applies to England

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sheep-testing-required-for-an-annual-health-and-welfare-review-and-endemic-disease-follow-up/vets-testing-sheep-for-animal-health-and-welfare-review

Testing, sampling and advice

Test type and sampling

You should use a worming treatment check to test how well a worming treatment has worked.

Follow guidance on how to do a SCOPS worming treatment check.

Regardless of worm burden, you must send all samples to a laboratory that meets the specifications. Samples must not be pooled before sending.

If the first round of sampling does not show worm eggs present, you do not need to do further sampling. You’ll still need to report the results of the initial egg count.

The farmer can collect faeces samples, if confident in doing so. 

You should use a worming treatment that has one of the following active chemicals:

  • benzimidazole (BZ)
  • levamisole (LV)
  • macrocyclic lactones (ML)
  • amino-acetonitrile derivatives (AD)
  • spiroindoles (SI)

Review medicine usage (optional)

The farmer may ask you to review farm medicines, including how to prescribe and use them.

You could discuss:

  • recommendations about medicines used on the farm, including antibiotics and vaccinations
  • how and when to use preventative medicines, and how to store them
  • the value of testing over treatment and why the right diagnostics can save money

You can tell the farmer about the AHDB Medicine Hub. You could explain how it can help them and encourage them to register if they have not already.

Test sample laboratory analysis

Send the faeces samples to a laboratory for a composite worm egg count. A farmer will not be eligible for funding unless samples are tested at a laboratory that meets at least one of these specifications:

Testing must only be done at a laboratory that meets these requirements even if you have access to equipment or a device provided by an accredited laboratory.

Find a laboratory to do the review testing.

Test results

You should:

  • discuss the test results and any further action or recommendations with the farmer
  • talk to the farmer about doing an endemic disease follow-up

What documentation you need to give the farmer

When you have completed the review, the farmer will ask you to give them:

  • a written report
  • a vet summary

Written report

It should include:

  • laboratory test results
  • advice or suggested health and welfare actions
  • other findings, for example biosecurity recommendations and medicine usage
  • actions to address issues from the review – this is likely to be 2 to 3 but can be more or less based on individual needs
  • information about other concerns the farmer raised

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) and Rural Payments Agency (RPA) will not ask to see the report.

Vet summary

The summary gives the information the farmer needs to make a claim. The RPA may ask to see the summary as evidence the review place. It should be a separate document.

We suggest you use our vet summary templates for sheep testing. If you choose to use your own summary template to give to the farmer, it must include:

  • the species the farmer chose for the review
  • the single business identifier (SBI)
  • the name of the business where the review took place
  • the agreement number
  • the date of the vet’s last visit to the farm for the review
  • the date samples were last taken for the review
  • confirmation the farmer had the minimum number of animals required on the date of the review
  • the number of animals samples were taken from
  • if samples were taken from less than 10 lambs – confirmation that samples were taken from all lambs less than 12 months old
  • the vet’s name
  • the vet’s Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) number
  • the laboratory unique reference number (URN) for the test results
  • the test results
  • confirmation the vet gave the farmer a written report
  • the vet’s signature and date – the signature can be digital or on paper
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