Farmers were recently permitted to buy certain livestock pain relief products at rural stores without needing a prescription from a vet.
The anaesthetic and anti-inflammatory drugs NumOcaine and Buccalgesic are used during castration, tail docking and mulesing.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration temporarily changed the classifications of the drugs and this allows farmers to improve welfare during animal husbandry procedures.
A final decision on whether to change the scheduling of the drugs’ active ingredients, lidocaine and meloxicam, will be made this month.
“Until a final decision is made and comes into effect, oral preparations of meloxicam continue to be in Schedule 4 of the Poisons Standard (prescription-only), and injectable preparations of lidocaine in tamper-resistant dispensers continue to be in Schedule 5 (available without a prescription),” a TGA spokesperson said.
The Australian Veterinary Association plans to challenge the decision.
