The mobile sheep dipping code of practice provides cross-industry advice for everyone involved in the dipping process – prescribers, dippers and farmers.
Confirmation of resistance in sheep scab mites to the injectable macrocyclic lactone (ML) scab treatments, coupled with increasing concern that the use of these products is accelerating resistance to the MLs in gut-worm populations, means more and more sheep farmers have been turning to organophosphate (OP) sheep dip to treat for sheep scab. In contrast, the number of farmers with their own dipping facilities has continued to fall, not least because of the rules around certificates of competence and the complexity/cost of disposing of spent dip. This means they have increasingly been turning to professional mobile dipping contractors – highlighting the need for support to these service providers, as well as prescribers and farmers.
The code carries the support of organisations across the sheep sector. It was created in 2021 and updated in August 2023.
Amongst other things, the code clearly states it is illegal to apply OP dip via a jetter or shower, and also illegal to prescribe dip for application via these routes. The product is licenced as an OP plunge dip. To (anonymously) report someone prescribing or using OP through a jetter or shower, go to www.gov.uk/guidance/report-illegal-animal-medicines or contact one of the organisations below.
