On-farm incident prevention

Poisoning incidents on farms are usually because animals have been exposed to lead or copper on farmland

A group of black and white cows graze on a vibrant green field beneath a partly cloudy blue sky.

On-farm poisoning

The main causes of poisoning on farms are lead and copper.

Farmers can take these five steps to avoid this happening to their animals:

Check that vehicle and fence batteries are stored securely and out of reach of animals
Check fields and fences for fly-tipping before putting animals out to pasture
Check buildings and equipment for old lead paint peeling off
Check what feed sheep have access to. Some concentrates and minerals are for cattle only
Check supplements are right for your sheep as breeds such as Texel, Suffolk and North Ronaldsay are more susceptible to copper poisoning

Most poisoning incidents are caused by lead, which can impact the health of animals and put consumers at risk. It can also result in animals being restricted from the food chain until lead levels in their systems are proved safe. This leads to financial costs to farmers as they can’t sell their animals for slaughter and need to pay for animals to be tested for lead.

Watch our video to find out what happened to a farmer in Angus, and what we are doing to raise awareness of lead poisoning.

Download our leaflet about on-farm poisoning Five steps to prevent on-farm poisoning

Lead poisoning

Lead poisoning incidents commonly happen in the spring when cattle are put out to pasture. However, they can also happen in summer months. Young cattle are more susceptible due to their inquisitive nature. 

Sources include lead batteries, flaking lead paint, fly tipping and bonfire ash.

Symptoms in animals include:

blindness
grinding teeth
bobbing head
twitching eyes/ears
frothing at mouth
muscle tremors
staggering
excitability
convulsions

The animal usually dies shortly after it begins to show symptoms.

Sheep are very sensitive to copper, although different breeds respond to it differently. Some breeds are very prone to copper poisoning. For example, Texel, Suffolk, North Ronaldsay and some continental breeds. Copper should only be supplemented in these breeds with extreme care.

Symptoms in animals include:

weakness
aimless wandering
head-pressing
yellowing of the gums, eyes and/or skin (jaundice)

Treatment options for copper poisoning are limited, and there is a very low chance of recovery in affected animals.

One of the causes of copper poisoning is feeding sheep concentrates or minerals that were designed for cattle, as these contain too much copper for sheep.

Spreading distillery by-product on pasture can also cause copper poisoning in sheep. Farmers are typically advised to remove animals from pasture for three weeks to allow the soil to absorb the product. 

Other types of on-farm poisoning incidents are less common but can include botulism. Botulism is a paralysing disease which is fatal for most affected animals. It is caused by a highly lethal toxin found in soil, which multiplies in rotting vegetation or carcases.

Rodenticides, ragwort, ergot, cadmium, arsenic and malicious contamination are some other less common causes of poisoning incidents on farms.

On-farm incident prevention

On-farm poisoning

Lead poisoning

Related content

On-farm incidents: How to protect your livestock and Scotland’s food chain

Five steps farmers can take to prevent on-farm poisoning

On-farm poisoning campaign toolkit