Red Tractor vets must be PVS members from October 1
11th Jul 2017 / By Alistair Driver
Members of the Red Tractor pigs scheme have been reminded that all vets registered under the scheme must be members of the Pig Veterinary Society (PVS) from October 1.
Previously, PVS membership was only required for vets carrying out Real Welfare assessments. The change was announced earlier this year as part of a review of the assurance scheme’s standards, alongside various other changes intended to ensure responsible use of antibiotics and a strengthening of the animal medicine standards.
The changes also require vets to declare they will only prescribe antibiotics for use on Red Tractor pig units in accordance with the PVS Prescribing Principles for Antimicrobials. Another major change will make it compulsory to record quarterly antibiotic usage on the eMB-Pigs database.
Red Tractor technical manager Joanna King said: “Ensuring every Red Tractor registered vet is a PVS member will help keep them abreast of the most recent version of the Prescribing Principles, along with other guidelines and publications.”
Assessors undertaking Red Tractor farm assessments can verify whether the retained farm vet is a current PVS member through their membership number which is required on the quarterly veterinary report forms. Membership numbers can be checked against an online PVS membership checker.
The full set of changes to Red Tractor pork rules from this October can be viewed here