EU outlaws animal use of herbal remedies on organic farms
Sandra Saadi
11th July 2014
New EU regulations forbid the use of herbal remedies and plant essences to maintain animal health instead of antibiotics, reports Sandra Saadi. An organic ewe breeder in France has already been threatened with the loss of EU farm support payments.
This new attack on the freedom of livestock farmers is unacceptable. It deprives them of ancestral knowledge and drives them at high speed into an ever more industrial model.
The threat was made following an inspection last year and reflects new EU and national Regulations that France appears determined to enforce rigidly.
Sandrine Lizaga, 41, has kept 80 ewes on 52 hectares (128 acres) of organic pasture, and milks them to produce fresh dairy products including fresh milk and regional tome cheeses in the village of Bourdeaux (Drome) since 2010.
The inspection is carried out by the DDPP (regional direction for the population protection) each year to determine whether or not farmers are entitled to receive agricultural subsidies payable under the EU's Common Agriculture Policy (CAP).
The DDPP claimed that Lizaga was in breach of the new regulatory framework, after they discovered essential oil bottles and homeopathic remedies unaccompanied by veterinary prescriptions.
What's it all about?
She said she had never heard of any regulation requiring veterinary prescription to administer plants and homeopathic medicines to cure animals - and in any case, both are available 'over the counter' with no need for any prescription.
"I always use antibiotics when they are seriously ill but I also use plants and anti parasitic treatment without veterinary prescription when they have smaller issues and I never had any problems", Lizaga revealed.
Inspectors explained to her that she should not collect plants for decoction or use essential oils, as under the new regulations they were deemd to present a danger for those who consume her products.
During her training as a farmer she took aromatherapy and herbal therapy courses to allowing her to use wild plants of the fields and meadows to treat her ewes' ailments without resorting to antibiotics or other pharmaceuticals.
'This is completely unfair'
A month after the inspection, Madame Lizaga received a letter asking her to change her animal care practices under threat of losing her CAP financial support payments, which amount to €15,000 a year.
When the final inspection report was issued, the DDPP asked for a repayment of 1% of her CAP payments, a sum of €150. Lizaga admitted that the sanction was a minor one, but found it unfair in principle.
"I found it deeply unfair to be treated as a breeder who would over use antibiotics to boost the production of their animals when I am using natural products to cure my ewes", she said.
She also insisted on the fact that as an organic breeder she also has to submit her herd to organic inspections which are much more stringent than 'conventional' ones to guarantee the quality and safety of her dairy products.
read on: http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/2468118/eu_outlaws_animal_use_of_herbal_remedies_on_organic_farms.html
Love Always
mudra
Sandra Saadi
11th July 2014
New EU regulations forbid the use of herbal remedies and plant essences to maintain animal health instead of antibiotics, reports Sandra Saadi. An organic ewe breeder in France has already been threatened with the loss of EU farm support payments.
This new attack on the freedom of livestock farmers is unacceptable. It deprives them of ancestral knowledge and drives them at high speed into an ever more industrial model.
The threat was made following an inspection last year and reflects new EU and national Regulations that France appears determined to enforce rigidly.
Sandrine Lizaga, 41, has kept 80 ewes on 52 hectares (128 acres) of organic pasture, and milks them to produce fresh dairy products including fresh milk and regional tome cheeses in the village of Bourdeaux (Drome) since 2010.
The inspection is carried out by the DDPP (regional direction for the population protection) each year to determine whether or not farmers are entitled to receive agricultural subsidies payable under the EU's Common Agriculture Policy (CAP).
The DDPP claimed that Lizaga was in breach of the new regulatory framework, after they discovered essential oil bottles and homeopathic remedies unaccompanied by veterinary prescriptions.
What's it all about?
She said she had never heard of any regulation requiring veterinary prescription to administer plants and homeopathic medicines to cure animals - and in any case, both are available 'over the counter' with no need for any prescription.
"I always use antibiotics when they are seriously ill but I also use plants and anti parasitic treatment without veterinary prescription when they have smaller issues and I never had any problems", Lizaga revealed.
Inspectors explained to her that she should not collect plants for decoction or use essential oils, as under the new regulations they were deemd to present a danger for those who consume her products.
During her training as a farmer she took aromatherapy and herbal therapy courses to allowing her to use wild plants of the fields and meadows to treat her ewes' ailments without resorting to antibiotics or other pharmaceuticals.
'This is completely unfair'
A month after the inspection, Madame Lizaga received a letter asking her to change her animal care practices under threat of losing her CAP financial support payments, which amount to €15,000 a year.
When the final inspection report was issued, the DDPP asked for a repayment of 1% of her CAP payments, a sum of €150. Lizaga admitted that the sanction was a minor one, but found it unfair in principle.
"I found it deeply unfair to be treated as a breeder who would over use antibiotics to boost the production of their animals when I am using natural products to cure my ewes", she said.
She also insisted on the fact that as an organic breeder she also has to submit her herd to organic inspections which are much more stringent than 'conventional' ones to guarantee the quality and safety of her dairy products.
read on: http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/2468118/eu_outlaws_animal_use_of_herbal_remedies_on_organic_farms.html
Love Always
mudra
