Moredun releases new animated film War of the Worms at Royal Highland Show

In response to increasing reports of anthelmintic (wormer) resistance in many of our common gastro-intestinal worms affecting the health and welfare of livestock and horses, Moredun has teamed up with animator Selina Wagner to create an engaging and entertaining short film highlighting the important elements involved in the development and spread of anthelmintic resistance as well as the crucial messages on sustainable methods of worm control.

Principal scientist in anthelmintic resistance research at Moredun, Dr David Bartley said: “Protecting the efficacy of our currently available anthelmintic products is key to ensuring that we are able control parasitic worms in livestock and horses in the future, in order to do this we need to look at new and innovative ways of getting messages about sustainable worm control out and applied on farms and horse yards.”

The key messages focus on explaining the life cycle of worms and how they are transmitted, the benefits of testing animals to determine the need for treatment and to check drug efficacy as well as the value of using farm specific information in treatment decisions. The information is explained in a clear and interesting four minute animated film. It is hoped that the livestock and equine health industries will promote the use of this resource to explain best practice and encourage the implementation of these principles across the industry.

Post-doctoral research scientist in equine parasitology at Moredun, Dr Thomas Tzelos said: “With this artistic approach we are aiming to engage horse owners and farmers in the subjects of anthelmintic resistance and sustainable parasite control. With the cases of anthelmintic resistance increasing worldwide and no new anthelmintic drugs to be released in the near future for use in horses, it is crucial to prolong the efficacy of the products available.”

Professor Lee Innes, director of communications at Moredun said: “We are always keen to collaborate with others to try new approaches to communicate our science more effectively and it has been really exciting to work together with Selina Wagner who has created a very dynamic short film which we hope will engage people in the ongoing War with Worms.”

Animation director, Selina Wagner, said: “It was a pleasure to work with the team at Moredun, from the script-writing stage right through to the production of the final animation. We chose a visual style that was bold, clean and colourful to help portray information clearly. It was also a lot of fun to bring parasitic worms to life on screen.”

The film will be available to view on the Moredun website from Thursday 23rd July.