Ectoparasites of goats in the UK

- Information about ectoparasites is gathered from UK goat farmers using a retrospective survey.
- 40% of goat owners believe their goats were affected by ectoparasites in the last 12 months.
- Ivermectin was the most commonly used prophylactic and therapeutic ectoparasiticide.
- Ivermectin is ineffective as a prophylactic, and overuse can promote resistance.
- Education of UK goat farmers is essential if the industry is to continue to grow.

The goat industry in the UK has expanded rapidly in recent years, but at present there is only a poor understanding of the prevalence of parasitic diseases in this farming system. Here, a questionnaire survey of 110 goat owners was used to address this issue. Problems with louse infestation in the previous 12 months were reported by 23% of owners and 19% reported mange. Chorioptic mange was the most common form, with 14 of 21 cases. Sarcoptic mage accounted for only 3 cases and demodex and psoroptic mange each made up 2 cases. Only 53 farmers (48%) said that they took preventative measures to protect their animals against ectoparasite infestation; 20 of these relied on macrocyclic lactones (MLs), the most common product specified was ivermectin. Therapeutic treatment was used by all respondents who said that they had experienced ectoparasites, and again ivermectin was the most common treatment. The use of fipronil was specified by 3 respondents, including one commercial meat producer. Four farmers said that they used antibiotics as an ectoparasiticide. This pattern of treatment for ectoparasites, with reliance on MLs, has implications for the inadvertent selection of resistance in endoparasites. The results suggest that ectoparasites are a major problem for many goat owners, both commercial and non-commercial, but that there is a need for better information for the goat producing community about the optimum approaches to parasite prevention and treatment.