cattlemen are pumping illegal ...........

[hillsdown]

Milkmaid Wrote:

Kinda hard to convince the general public that their meat is safe when cattlemen are pumping illegal drugs with extended slaughter withdrawal times into their animals, and then not observing those withdrawal times.

Milkmaid responded to a post with this and I wanted to reaffirm what she has stated. With the price we get for our slaughter/feeder cattle now it is a must that we assure the consumer that we do indeed act responsibly. We need people to eat beef.

I have seen post after post of what people give their cattle from drugs to feed that are NOT meant for cattle .

So let's act responsibly and if is not for cattle use DO NOT use it without your veterinarians permission and exact with-drawl time. Also if you read about something such as feed, improper drugs, that someone is using, it is for the good of the industry that you correct the miss use.

Now off my soap box.

 

[iowafarmer]

:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

 

[larryshoat]

Milkmaid Wrote:

Kinda hard to convince the general public that their meat is safe when cattlemen are pumping illegal drugs with extended slaughter withdrawal times into their animals, and then not observing those withdrawal times.

Milkmaid responded to a post with this and I wanted to reaffirm what she has stated. With the price we get for our slaughter/feeder cattle now it is a must that we assure the consumer that we do indeed act responsibly. We need people to eat beef.

I have seen post after post of what people give their cattle from drugs to feed that are NOT meant for cattle .

So let's act responsibly and if is not for cattle use DO NOT use it without your veterinarians permission and exact with-drawl time. Also if you read about something such as feed, improper drugs, that someone is using, it is for the good of the industry that you correct the miss use.

Now off my soap box.

HD, what "illegal" drugs are you talking about ? I have not heard anybody advocate the use a drug that is illegal, nor have I heard anybody recomend not observing withdrawl times .

Larry

 

[5minpins]

Well said, people like me are your consumer, I dont want to eat that, good or bad, I dont want to eat that.... :|

 

[milkmaid]

Larry -- it's concerning the use of gentamycin, which carries an 18-24 month withdrawal.

 

[hillsdown]

Gentamicin sulfate, sulfamethoxazole used illegally
The Food and Drug Administration has recently issued warning letters to veterinarians for their illegal use of gentamicin sulfate and sulfamethoxazole.

For example, a veterinarian prescribed and compounded a product containing sulfamethoxazole for extralabel use in lactating dairy cattle. Sulfamethoxazole is prohibited for extralabel use in lactating dairy cattle. In addition, the compounded product also contained dexamethasone, but the label did not list this as an ingredient.

Veterinarians have also mishandled gentamicin sulfate. In one instance, a veterinarian prescribed and dispensed gentamicin sulfate for extralabel use in a dairy cow without providing a label that established an adequate withdrawal period, supported by required scientific information. In another, a veterinarian prescribed gentamicin sulfate products including compounded products containing the drug, and was not able to support the labeled withdrawal interval with scientific information.

Prior to prescribing or dispensing an approved animal drug for an extralabel use in food animals, a veterinarian must make a careful diagnosis and evaluation of the condition for which the drug is to be used, establish a substantially extended withdrawal period prior to marketing an edible product, institute procedures to ensure that the identity of the treated animal is carefully maintained, and take appropriate measures to ensure that assigned timeframes for withdrawal are met. This includes specifying a withdrawal/discard time on a drug label for any food that might be derived from a treated animal.

In addition, the FDA has not approved gentamicin for use in cattle or scientifically established a withdrawal time for cattle. While the Food Animal Residue Avoidance Databank recommends a minimum preslaughter withdrawal period of 18 months or more for this drug, the AVMA and American Association of Bovine Practitioners have called on veterinarians to avoid extralabel use of aminoglycosides, including gentamicin, in cattle, because of the propensity for these drugs to be retained in kidney tissue for long periods.

To obtain a copy of the "FDA and the Veterinarian" booklet and "Extralabel Drug Use" brochure, free of charge, call the AVMA at (800) 248-2862, Ext. 6636.


Not to single anyone else out , there have been many, many things that are prohibited that have been suggested from drugs to feed.

Just remember we are not the only ones that read the boards a lot of beef haters read them as well.

 

[larryshoat]

Oh, yeah I remember that one about the horse . That's a sticky one, I've stayed away from Gent in recent years although I have a full case in my cabinet fully labeled and prescribed by my vet . To people that are going to use it anyway I recomend using it oraly . The label my vet uses has a 300 day withdrawl and I think if questioned he has to provide scientific evidence for that determination .
All in all not worth it, besides all that, I've really not found it to be any more effective than say Spectinomycin . What scares me is the thought of a whole load of fat cattle being rejected for a minute amount of Gentimicin found in the kidneys .

Larry

 

[larryshoat]

Milkmaid Wrote:

Kinda hard to convince the general public that their meat is safe when cattlemen are pumping illegal drugs with extended slaughter withdrawal times into their animals, and then not observing those withdrawal times.

Milkmaid responded to a post with this and I wanted to reaffirm what she has stated. With the price we get for our slaughter/feeder cattle now it is a must that we assure the consumer that we do indeed act responsibly. We need people to eat beef.

I have seen post after post of what people give their cattle from drugs to feed that are NOT meant for cattle .

So let's act responsibly and if is not for cattle use DO NOT use it without your veterinarians permission and exact with-drawl time. Also if you read about something such as feed, improper drugs, that someone is using, it is for the good of the industry that you correct the miss use.

Now off my soap box.

HD, what "illegal" drugs are you talking about ? I have not heard anybody advocate the use a drug that is illegal, nor have I heard anybody recomend not observing withdrawl times .

Larry

Just to set the record straight I agree with you 100% . If we expect to maintain our current level of independece in treating our stock we have to do it correctly. I was just curious, I suppose a PM would have been a better way to ask .

Larry

 

[grannysoo]

it's concerning the use of gentamycin, which carries an 18-24 month withdrawal.

Ask my vet about gentamycin and he'll tell you that it "was" the best drug on the market. That being said, he also will tell you that only a fool will use it. Mention this to my vet and he will shut you down quick... Don't even speak the word gentamycin in his office.

He and I had a talk about it one day and although he said it was a very effective drug, it stays in the system virtually forever and anyone that uses it WILL GET CAUGHT! And, when you get caught, it's not going to be pretty.

Most cattle people are trying to grow a good and safe product. The cattle business is not different than any other business however. There is always a select few out there that will do anything, legal or not, to make that extra dollar.

 

[mnmtranching]

I agree 100% And why would anybody use stuff like that on meat animals? Lots of good safe products.

 

[rockridgecattle]

I agree, we have to be so careful to read the directions and use correct dosage when administering cattle drugs. More is not always better. It infact increases the withdrawl time if an overdose is given.
When one cow or calf gets caught with residual drug in the system at slaughter it's like the bad apple or tomato in the box...contaminates the rest of the fruit. And in cattle terms creates a PR nightmare in food safety.

 

[KNERSIE]

What was gentamycin used for in the past?

 

[Brandonm22]

We used to use gentamycin all the time in the hog business as a general use antibiotic. I might have used a bottle a week. I think the withdrawal time we were using was only 21 days. Of course a lot has changed since the early 90s.

 

[Pine Creek Ranch]

This subject was brought about by a post I made concerning treatment of scouring newborn calves. I was not aware of what gentamicin was until someone mentioned it works well for that. Since then, our vetrinarian has in fact prescribed it to us for the treatment of newborn calves, and he did caution us not to use it in any cattle other than newborns. That being the case, seems like an 18 month withdrawal time is fine if using it for newborns. Am I way out of line here?

I agree wholeheartedly that we as cattle producers need to be very strict in what we give our cattle. I am asking these questions out of ignorance, not to start an argument. Should I not be using a vet prescribed antibiotic? As a side note, we have only used it twice ever, (the vet just gave it to us last week) and I had never heard of it before then, but I will tell you, the two times I used it, it worked wonders and probably saved at least one of those calves.

 

[EAT BEEF]

Since then, our vetrinarian has in fact prescribed it to us for the treatment of newborn calves, and he did caution us not to use it in any cattle other than newborns. That being the case, seems like an 18 month withdrawal time is fine if using it for newborns. Am I way out of line here?

My vet told us about the same thing. "don't use it on anything over 2 months of age"

 

[milkmaid]

It's unknown exactly how long a withdrawal to tack onto gentamycin. Some sources give it a 24 month withdrawal... I wouldn't recommend using it even on calves. I butchered some steers last fall that were about 15 months of age; still well under that withdrawal time. How many of you keep your steers for 2 years before butchering them?

And I'm certain that the average beef calf is butchered by 18 months of age, if not younger.

 

[TexasBred]

We used to use gentamycin all the time in the hog business as a general use antibiotic. I might have used a bottle a week. I think the withdrawal time we were using was only 21 days. Of course a lot has changed since the early 90s.

Brandon my vet prescribed it for scours in calves and for mastitis in dairy cattle. And as granny said, it was an awesome drug. If gentamycin wouldn't get rid of mastitis nothing would. That was nearly 20 years ago. Never gave it IM but infused a lot in the teat. Crazy thing is even with the long lasting residue in meat, MD's can prescribe it for human use.

 

[Brandonm22]

This subject was brought about by a post I made concerning treatment of scouring newborn calves. I was not aware of what gentamicin was until someone mentioned it works well for that. Since then, our vetrinarian has in fact prescribed it to us for the treatment of newborn calves, and he did caution us not to use it in any cattle other than newborns. That being the case, seems like an 18 month withdrawal time is fine if using it for newborns. Am I way out of line here?

I don't think we can assume that. If you sell calves at weaning, and they weigh 600+ lbs and somebody buys them and takes them straight to the feedlot with no lengthy stockering or backgrounding stage....they could be finished by 15-18 months and if they were culled from the feedlot before finishing for lameness, pneumonia, etc they COULD have gone straight to burger. MOST of the time you would be right though. COULD a positive slaughterhouse test come all the way back to you?? Probably not; but it is something to ponder.

 

[TexasBred]

Well for every one cow/calf slaughtered with gentamycin residue in her meat there is probably 1000 slaughtered with pennicillin or CTC or something of that sort in them. We should all take every precaution to ensure we don't contribute to this.

 

[TheBullLady]

Back in the late 80's and early 90's it was one of the best drugs you could use for scours in calves. It was pretty routinely prescribed by large animal vets back then, but if I recall correctly it was labeled for use in dogs.