Many conditions remain ‘sight unseen’ because they are not detectable in a live animal, so, to help producers get a better understanding of the impact some sheep health conditions have on the carcass, Animal Health Australia (AHA) and the Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA) developed a virtual reality tool for producers, “Sheep Health Conditions – Carcass Impacts”.
Six conditions are showcased – pleurisy/pneumonia, sheep measles, grass seeds, arthritis, rib fractures and vaccination lesions. Within the tool, there are also fact sheets which include further information including how producers can prevent or manage each condition on their property.
The visualisation tool was developed to complement PIRSA’s Enhanced Abattoir Surveillance (EAS) project and AHA’s National Sheep Health Monitoring Project (NSHMP) – both projects aimed at collecting and reporting on the incidence of sheep health conditions that present at the abattoir.