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The opinion of farmers on buying and selling sheep with known maedi visna status

Can you help a student at the University of Edinburgh with a strong interest in sheep flock health and preventative medicine? We would ask that you complete a questionnaire, which supports a project looking into the viability and usefulness of a maedi-visna (MV) “foundation” accreditation scheme for commercial UK sheep farmers.
The maedi-visna (MV) “foundation” accreditation scheme is described briefly below:

  • Flocks which produce replacement gimmers would undergo testing and have to adhere to certain biosecurity measures to reduce their likelihood of bringing in MV and spreading it through their flock.
  • The gimmers being sold from these flocks would be assigned a certain risk level (based on the testing results, biosecurity measures taken and length of time the flock has been part of the scheme) with each level higher being less likely to carry the disease.
  • Sheep who are part of this scheme would be advertised with their risk level at markets or private sales.
  • This would allow buyers of replacement gimmers to decrease their likelihood of becoming infected with MV.
  • It would allow producers of replacement gimmers to promote and advertise their gimmers with their risk level at sales.
  • Would be designed for commercial flocks and would not be at the same level as the PSGHS maedi visna accreditation scheme

The questionnaire will cover general questions about your sheep business and then specific questions regarding your opinion on a "foundation" MV accreditation scheme. There are 15 questions and it should only take about 5 minutes to complete. Any help you can provide will be greatly appreciated.
The link for the questionnaire is provided below.
https://edinburgh.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/src-project-the-opinion-of-farmers-on-buying-and-selling


Many thanks for your assistance.
Ardene House Vet Practice

Article Title
The opinion of farmers on buying and selling sheep with known maedi visna status
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