Crackdown on animal drugs scam

The government is to crack down on a rapidly growing black market in illegal antibiotics for animals with the first prosecutions expected soon amid increasing fears about the risks to human health.

Thirty nine investigations are under way into the unauthorised use of antibiotics and other medicines, most involving cheap drugs illegally imported from Ireland.

Some are sold at a quarter or a third of the veterinary price in this country.

The investigations come amid mounting concern about the overuse of antibiotics in animal feed.

Last month a report by government advisers warned of the "calamitous consequences" of a failure to curb the use of drugs in animals, which is contributing to antibiotic resistance in humans and the growth of potentially fatal superbugs.

The maximum penalty for the illicit trade will be two years in prison and an unlimited fine.

Price lists from pharmacies in Ireland are said to be readily available in some parts of Wales, effectively encouraging cash-strapped farmers to bypass vets.

Unauthorised or cut-price medicines are being offered by car boot salesmen, and some farmers are running "cash and carry" operations, travelling to Ireland to pick up bulk supplies.

Increasingly there are attempts to sell drugs to farmers by mail order.

The result is that drugs which should only be administered under veterinary control are widely and cheaply available.

The extent and value of the trade is unknown but it is spreading through much of the west of Britain.

Vets fear that the unmonitored use of cheap antibiotics could lead to drugs working through the food chain, accelerating the growth of superbugs.

They are also concerned about the unmonitored use of hormones in farm animals, which are usually prescribed to help synchronise breeding.

The government-run veterinary medicines directorate has set up a special unit to collect information on possible breaches of the law. Officials, who are reluctant to give details, are visiting agricultural shows and markets to warn farmers of the consequences of buying unauthorised products.

Some vets rely on the sales of drugs to farmers for up to 40% of their income, and they say revenue is falling because of the economic state of the industry and the availability of illegal drugs.

Drug companies also report a drop in UK sales of medicine for farm animals.

Keith Baker, president of the British Veterinary Association, said: "There is concern with illegal imports. You often hear stories of a chap with an Irish accent at one of the markets in the north of England offering farmers drugs from the back of his car.

"The trade is fuelled by the disparity in drug prices between EU member states. In Ireland some drugs are cheaper than the practitioners in this country can buy them. These are drugs that ought to be under veterinary control."

The drug companies refuse to discuss individual prices for products, saying comparisons are unfair and black market prices are inevitably lower than legitimate ones.

They claim the regulatory system in the UK is so strict and expensive that costs have to be passed on the farmers. They point out that the strengthening of sterling against the Irish punt over the past year has alone made Irish prices appear 16% cheaper.

Roger Cook, director of the National Office for Animal Health, the companies' umbrella body, said: "However tempting it might be to buy cheaply elsewhere, farmers must think of the potential damage that could be done if stories that farms were using illegal medicines began to circulate."

As well as concern about prescription-only medicines being adminstered to animals without the authorisation of a vet, products without UK labels may have inappropriate advice on dosage and the gap between ending treatment and sending animals for slaughter.

In addition, farmers using drugs without veterinary approval are unlikely to enter the medicines in their record books.

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