SASKATOON — Saskatchewan cattle producers continue to worry about access to livestock medication as new regulations come into force across Canada.
The changes mean certain drugs used for livestock will no longer be available at farm retail stores. Producers will have to obtain prescriptions from veterinarians, with whom they will require a client-veterinarian relationship, and purchase the medication from a veterinary office.
Several resolutions at the Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association annual meeting asked for changes to keep costs down.
One asked that antibiotics still be available from retail stores as long as the producer has a prescription. Another asked governments to urge pharmacies to carry veterinary products.
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Dr. Betty Althouse, the provincial veterinarian, said that the federal government sets the rules on prescribing while the provinces determine who can dispense.
“In Saskatchewan, we have no regulations under agriculture on who can dispense,” she told the meeting. “That comes under the pharmacy act.”
Pharmacists, veterinarians and licensed feed mills can dispense, but the latter are limited to sales of medications in feeds or pre-mixes and not the actual drug products, Althouse said.
The new regulations come out of the national antimicrobial resistance framework and a focus on improved stewardship. Own-use imports of medications have been restricted and all antimicrobials moved to the prescription drug list as of this month.
“By Dec. 1, 2018, the only access to category one-through-three antimicrobials will be through veterinary prescriptions,” she said.
Tetracycline and penicillin that were available at retail stores will require a prescription to make sure their use is medically appropriate.
Brent Johnson from SCA’s District 6 said pharmacies should be encouraged to carry the medications.
“If you’re in a small town and pharmacies are up to that, we could immediately have competitive pricing on veterinary drugs,” he said.
Lynn Grant from District 3B raised potential conflict of interest when a veterinarian is both the prescriber and the dispenser.
