What is a fish farming care protocol?

The care protocol is a document introduced by the decree of April 24, 2007relating to health surveillance and care regularly entrusted to the veterinarian.

In continuation of breeding health assessment, the veterinarian draws up a care protocol which will serve as a reference for the prescription of medications without systematic clinical examination.

He focuses in particular on:

• specifying the health measures, i.e. hygiene measures and good breeding practices not requiring the use of medications, particularly for conditions defined as priorities during the livestock health assessment;
• identify all of the conditions that the livestock has already been confronted with for which the veterinarian can prescribe veterinary medications without prior clinical examination of the animals;
• describe the methods for implementing medicinal treatments.

The care protocol includes at least:

• The general program of health measures necessary for reasoned conduct of breeding depending on the species and, where applicable, the type of production concerned and the preventive measures requiring the use of medicines, in particular vaccination treatments;

• The conditions with which the breeding has already been confronted for which a prescription may be made without prior clinical examination of the animals:

• For the health priority(s) of the breeding:

• the health measures necessary to combat these conditions;

• the implementation modalities implemented and the precautions to be taken in the event of drug treatment;

• the health alert criteria triggering a new visit from the veterinarian;

• For other conditions not defined as priorities with which the farm has already been confronted:

• the methods of implementation and the precautions to be taken in the event of drug treatment;

• the health alert criteria triggering a new visit from the veterinarian veterinarian.

• The information that the animal keeper must communicate to the veterinarian so that the latter can assess the evolution of the health status of the livestock with regard to the reference health status defined during the breeding health assessment for the conditions considered.

The care protocol is signed by the veterinarian and the animal keeper.

It is attached to the breeding register, and its duplicate kept at the professional administrative or practice address of the veterinarian.

The protocol is updated at least once a year, during each regular monitoring visit or after updating the breeding health report.

See also:Palette “Prescription and delivery of veterinary medicines” published by the Ministry of Agriculture.