Participation to the ENVIRANT meeting - 19 November 2025 - Bruxelles in the COST OFFICE premise

Summary of Envirant/SPARC Discussion (November 19, 2025)

The discussion focused on the urgent need for sustainable worm control (SWC) in livestock, addressing both the economic cost of parasites and the environmental impact and increasing resistance associated with current antihelmintic use.

Key Context and Challenges

Cost and Resistance: Livestock parasites cost the EU ruminant industry €2 billion annually. Antihelmintic resistance is a growing crisis, particularly in sheep.

Relevance: The work on animal health is crucial for food security, food sovereignty, high-quality food, animal welfare, and environmentally friendly farming, providing a vital contribution despite global military and societal threats.

New Challenges: The field faces challenges from climate change (altering epidemiology), antihelmintic resistance, pharmaceutical residues in the environment (ecotoxicity), and the need for reduced Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and integrated solutions.

Research and Project Highlights

Past Efforts: The meeting acknowledged a history of EU projects (e.g., Parasol, Gloworm, Deliver-paragone) and emphasized entering a "pragmatic era."

Life MiCliFeed Project: Demonstrated the use of natural bioactive compounds (e.g., grape byproducts rich in tannins) in animal feed. This approach:

Showed a strong antiparasitic effect.

Reduced methane (CH4) emissions by 5.4%.

Supports feed circular economy and reduces environmental impact.

ENVIRANT (2024-2027): Focused on the ecotoxicity of antihelmintics. Findings indicated:

Antihelmintics (e.g., abendazoles, ivermectin) have negative effects on nitrifying bacteria.

Residues were detected in associated water (41ng/L at 22% of sites).

Abendazole re-circulation was observed in sequential generations of animals.

The project contributes to the EU Green Deal goal of reducing pesticide use by 50% by 2030.

SPARC (Sustainable Parasite Control in Grazing Ruminants) (2024-2027): Aims to improve the adoption of practical SWC approaches through research, innovation, and stakeholder engagement via Communities of Practice (CoP). Key goals include raising awareness, disseminating knowledge, and creating a unified narrative.

Knowledge Gaps and Recommendations (Roadmap)

Maintain Critical Mass: Invest in strengthening the community and practice of parasitology, particularly on the field level (SPARC).

Integrated Approaches: Integrate environmental, economic, and social science (human behavior) into research.

Technological Investment: Support advancements in Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) and vaccinology for worm control.

Policy and Communication:

Develop a clear Concept Paper and effective communication strategy, engaging specialists.

Focus on Benefit/Risk assessment for antihelmintics, promoting an "equilibrated approach" rather than alarming ecotoxicity messages.

Need to address the lack of antihelmintic registration/regulation compared to antibiotics (EU required antibiotic use registration).

Advocacy for antiparasitic drugs needs to be at a regional level, as it is not a current priority for the United Nations.

Stakeholder Engagement: Actively engage policy makers who are currently missing, and appoint ambassadors (1-2 per country) to spread project principles.

Regulatory Awareness: Improve academic knowledge of the regulatory framework for drug development and encourage veterinarians to report suspected lack of efficacy.

The overall sentiment was a shift towards pragmatic, integrated, and environmentally conscious solutions for sustainable worm control, requiring better coordination across science, industry, and policy.