Canton of Lucerne
30,000 sheep are being examined: The programme to combat foot rot in sheep is now starting
The federal government and the cantons want to combat hoof disease by 2029 with a national program. However, it is questionable whether this will be able to eliminate it completely.
With a national program, the federal government and the cantons are fighting the painful hoof disease foot rot.
Symbolic image: Pius Amrein
In the coming days, extensive work will begin in the canton of Lucerne to finally get an insidious disease affecting sheep under control. It is foot rot, a contagious and extremely painful hoof disease for the animals. Sheep farmers and sheep traders have been fighting it for years without success. A national program to combat foot rot is now intended to change this.
There are around 30,000 sheep living in the canton of Lucerne. It is not known how many of them suffer from foot rot. According to estimates, the number of infected sheep populations in Switzerland is currently between 25 and 40 percent. The disease is not only painful for the animals, but also causes economic losses for the owners. This is because sick animals no longer eat properly. They produce less milk and grow more slowly.
The national program will now check all sheep herds annually. The first inspection period will run from October 1 to March 31, 2025. Veterinarians will take samples from the sheep herds. The owners are obliged to cooperate.
Treatment of sick animals is complex
The results are entered into the animal traffic database. This is to prevent sheep from foot rot-free farms from coming into contact with animals from affected or non-inspected farms. If this does happen, all of them lose their foot rot-free status.
Treating the sick sheep and rehabilitating the farms is the responsibility of the respective owners. “The hooves of the affected animals must be treated. In addition, all sheep must be hoof-bathed twice a week. This involves a lot of work and takes up a lot of time,” says deputy cantonal veterinarian Tobias Frink.
The costs for the remediation must be borne by the animal owners. The canton coordinates and monitors the examination of the sheep. The costs for the initial examination and the first examination after the remediation are borne by the animal disease fund. The owners must pay a deductible of a maximum of 90 francs per flock of sheep. The canton expects costs of around 500,000 francs in the first examination period. Animal owners are likely to incur around 80,000 francs in the first year.
Goal: Establish measures in companies
Frink assumes that the cooperation with the livestock farmers will work smoothly for the most part. “It is also in their interest to combat foot rot.” One difficulty could be informing those people who keep small flocks of sheep as a hobby about the program that is now being launched.
The aim of the national program is to reduce the number of infected sheep populations to less than 1 percent within five years. But that also means that the disease will not be completely eliminated and can spread again. A concern that Frink also shares. “Our idea is therefore that we can establish measures to combat foot rot on farms. If there is an exchange between different sheep populations, it should become a matter of course that the animals are examined for foot rot and protective measures are taken.”
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