IN a ground breaking new development for farmers and animal welfare, the Australian Veterinarian Medicine regulator (APVMA) has now extended the approved use of Tri-Solfen anaesthetic and antiseptic topical application to include the alleviation of pain in calves.
Tri-Solfen is currently approved by the APVMA for use in lambs, and is widely used in over 8 million animals per year, alleviating pain from husbandry procedures such as castration, tail docking and mulesing.
Tri-Solfen has a unique three-way action designed to numb the wound, minimise bleeding and protect against infection.
Scientific trials have demonstrated pain alleviation for up to 24 hours in both calves and lambs after surgical castration, and a significant improvement in wound healing.
To date, over 70 million animals have been treated with Tri-Solfen, with the product purchased over-the-counter in Australia from both local veterinarians and rural retailers.
On-going trials conducted by Sydney University Veterinary School were used to support the registration extension and confirm that Tri-Solfen is highly effective and is safe to use in alleviating pain post castration and disbudding in calves.
In addition recent studies conducted by Sydney University have also confirmed a significant reduction in pain associated with piglet castration, and these studies will be used to extend the registration for use in piglets in the first half of 2017.
“It is a major win for farmers, a win for calves, a win for animal welfare – and a win for the Australian cattle and dairy industries” says Allan Giffard, Managing Director of Animal Ethics.
Tri-Solfen is now approved to provide a practical means for farmers to alleviate the pain associated with husbandry procedures in calves and lambs, which are relied on for important animal health and management reasons.
This in turn has been shown to improve mothering-up, minimise set-back, whilst also addressing consumer concerns over welfare.
“Farm animals experience pain in the same way as dogs, cats and other companion animals,” Mr Giffard said.
“They deserve the same respect and effort to develop safe, affordable and effective pain relief and wound care that is practical for farmers to use. Tri-Solfen provides the first important product to address this need.
“This is a very exciting milestone for our company and the new calf registration further strengthens our marketing approval platform as we accelerate our international registration program in key markets such as the USA, EU, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand and South America.”
