Veterinary medicine laws signed in

NEW regulations on veterinary medicines have been signed into law by Agriculture Minister Mary Coughlan who said decisions on the classification of veterinary medicines were a matter for the Irish Medicines Board.

Both her department and the board were satisfied the EU criteria would not require the reclassification of veterinary medicines as “prescription only”.

Under the arrangements in the regulations, provision is being made for an alternative prescribing regime where the prescribing veterinary practitioner, as well as the farmer and milk purchasing co-op, have formally committed to a programme designed to reduce recourse to antibiotic treatments.