BAS urges vet lab to boost livestock, poultry health

Livestock and poultry farmers could face mounting animal health risks unless a veterinary laboratory is established to provide much-needed diagnostic support, the Barbados Agricultural Society (BAS) warned on Thursday.

Chief Executive Officer James Paul told journalists there was a pressing need for such a facility.

“We cannot have a modern and developed poultry sector in this country if those poultry farmers do not have access to laboratory facilities,” he said at a briefing held at BAS headquarters at The Grotto, Beckles Hill.

Paul explained that a lab was critical for accurate diagnosis and treatment of farm problems. “These laboratory facilities are essential if farmers are to diagnose correctly the problems that they are facing on the farms, and also to develop ways in which those problems that they are facing on the farms can actually be treated.”  

He noted that farm challenges go beyond feed and bird suppliers: “Sometimes, when farmers face issues, the greatest thing that we usually put the blame on is the feed company, or in some cases, the supplier of the birds. The environment they live in is not stable. There are many factors we have to consider in terms of dealing with poultry issues or health management in animals.”

Environmental conditions, management practices, and stress were also highlighted as contributing factors. “And these are issues that we want to stress in terms of the provision of veterinary laboratory facilities as a priority, to ensure that we have a viable and sustainable poultry and livestock sector because it’s extremely important,” he added.

Paul noted that Barbados currently lacks private laboratories capable of delivering adequate animal diagnoses. “You need specialised equipment and specialised facilities in order to do that,” he said. “We want to be able to deliver correct diagnoses to farmers so that they can take immediate action. As it stands right now, we don’t have that facility.”

Without proper facilities, addressing threats such as disease and viruses becomes difficult: “We do not want a situation where we have these things affecting the livestock or birds, and we can’t do anything about it. If you don’t have the appropriate equipment and facilities, you cannot diagnose it properly, and then you cannot offer the type of remedies that need to be given.”

Asked how farmers currently respond to problems, Paul said: “Basically we go on the phenotypic, on the appearance of the bird. In other words, on what I can see. It is not the best way; it is what I cannot see that we need to move on. This is the point that we need additional equipment, and that is where a lab, an appropriately equipped lab, comes in. The pathologist, right, to make a better examination of the bird.”

He added that such laboratory facilities existed in the past. “We have been assiduously working with government in order to make sure they get back in place as soon as possible.”

Chief Veterinary Officer Dr Mark Trotman declined to comment on Paul’s suggestion.

(SZB)