Weekly Livestock-Equine News: February 9, 2026

Zoetis launches digital resource center for poultry vaccine best practices

The new digital site, available at zoetisus.com/PoultryVaccination, offers best practices for hatchery — in ovo and spray cabinet — field spray, drinking water, wing web, intramuscular or subcutaneous, and intraocular vaccinations. Tools include videos, downloadable how-to guidelines and posters, and articles.

USDA postpones implementation of Horse Protection Amendments

The final rule, published in May 2024, was designed to strengthen the Horse Protection Act by replacing the industry-led inspection model with USDA-authorized Horse Protection Inspectors and implementing stricter prohibitions on soring, the practice of using chemicals or mechanical devices to induce an exaggerated gait in horses.

Health Canada finds food from PRRS-resistant pigs is safe to eat

Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has concluded that foods made from these pigs are as safe and nutritious for people to eat as pork currently available in Canada. The agencies made the announcement after completing independent, comprehensive safety assessments on pigs resistant to PRRS following applications from Genus PLC and PIC Canada. The CFIA also confirmed that these pigs are also effective for use in livestock feeds.

Norbrook receives FDA approval for generic oral suspension dewormer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Defendazole (fenbendazole) oral suspension to treat and control various species of lungworms, stomach worms and intestinal worms in beef and dairy cattle, and to treat and control two species of stomach worms in goats. Sponsored by Norbrook Laboratories, Defendazole contains the same active ingredient (fenbendazole) as the approved brand name drug product, Safe-Guard.

Barnwell, livestock health monitoring startup, raises $6M in seed funding

Barnwell Bio, an animal health intelligence company, has raised $6 million in seed funding to scale its metagenomic biosurveillance system, a platform designed to provide an early warning window for emerging disease threats in the poultry industry. Barnwell’s platform is said to capture the entire microbial ecosystem of a barn, translating hundreds of thousands of data points into a “microbiome fingerprint” unique to each facility.

Streptococcus suis vaccine targets multiple strains in pigs

A vaccine developed to tackle Streptococcus suis, developed by The Vaccine Group, University of Plymouth and Moredun Scientific Limited, has outperformed a leading commercially available vaccine in a challenge trial. The candidate vaccine was designed to incorporate antigens broadly present in most S. suis serotypes, with the intention of protecting pigs against multiple, if not all, known strains. At present no proven vaccines are capable of doing so.