A questionnaire survey on the practices adopted to control gastrointestinal nematode parasitism in dairy goat farms in France

To evaluate the efficacy with which recommendations of means to avoid the s pread of anthelmintic resistance in parasitic nematode populations are comm unicated to farmers on dairy goat farms in France, a questionnaire survey w as undertaken on their use of antiparasitic drugs. Information was collecte d from 73 farms in two main areas of dairy goat production. The data referr ed to three years. Anthelmintics were used in 69 farms, the mean number of treatments per year being 2.74. Changing the drug from one year to another was not practised. Moreover, of the 58 farms using two or more treatments p er year, only 37% used anthelmintics from different classes in the lactatio n and drying-off periods. Benzimidazoles and probenzimidazoles were given i n all except two farms and these substances represented more than 80% of al l the treatments. Levamisole/pyrantel or avermectins were used in 15% and 2 7% of the farms, respectively. Double the ovine dose, as recommended in goa ts to ensure efficacy of benzimidazoles, was applied in 55% of the farms. I n addition, in all the flocks, the substances were given on the basis of a mean estimated live weight and not by reference to the heaviest animal. The se results indicate that errors in the use of anthelmintics are still frequ ent in dairy goat farms in France, with probable consequences for the sprea d of anthelmintic resistance in the populations of parasites.