Drench capsules to be taken off market

A 20-year staple of alternative drenching will soon be off the market, with producers calling it “a major backward step” for the industry.

Worm capsules will no longer be available to Australian sheep producers beyond this spring despite steady sales.

And it has raised the ire of producers who said the capsules had been the best means of controlling worms and boosting productivity.

The Weekly Times understands that Boehringer Ingelheim owns the technology for the capsules which release drench over a 100-day period for worm control.

The company confirmed it would discontinue the Dynamax controlled release capsules for adult sheep following a review of the Australian market and had tried to “explore divestment opportunities in the local market (for the capsule technology) however ultimately these negotiations were unsuccessful”.

Boehringer Ingelheim Australia managing director Wes Cook said the company took its responsibility to animal health and wellbeing seriously.

“We are confident there are suitable product alternatives available in the local market to effectively treat these conditions in cattle and sheep,” Mr Cook said.

Wedderburn sheep producer Stephen Poole said the move to discontinue the range was ludicrous given the pressure on chemicals with drench resistance and the move to stop mulesing sheep.

“We have used the capsules for more than 20 years and have turned a chronic worm burden which we had to manage carefully, especially in young sheep, to not having to manually drench sheep,” Mr Poole said.

“We saw decreased dag in all the sheep, and weight gains in both ewes and lambs.

“The capsules fit so well in high rainfall areas where producers have spring lambing and for us, it provided protection from pre-lambing until our country hayed off in November.”

Mr Poole said not only did the capsules provide effective control of worms, they decreased the chance of resistance developing in chemicals and were a proactive approach to worm control.

“For us, it is a no-brainer to use them, and we would be prepared to pay double what they cost now (about $4) — we’ve just sold lambs that we have not drenched in a year averaging $247 and taken to maximum weights so the capsules work,” he said.

Mr Poole hopes Boehringer Ingelheim may change its mind, or another company may take up the technology and use it.

“I see this as a major backward step which will increase resistance and cause a disaster for the industry,” he said.

Paraboss is an industry body which delivers information on parasite control and its executive officer Dr Deborah Maxwell said she was not concerned with capsules being discontinued as there were equally or more effective alternatives widely available in Australia.

“Long acting moxidectin injections provide a three-month protection claim similar to capsules and injections are typically easier to administer than capsules and are cheaper,” Dr Maxwell said.

She said there were seven long-acting injections currently on the market for sheep.