Exciting news! Dechra now distributes Numnuts and NumOcaine, aligning with our product range dedicated to animal welfare. These solutions offer compassionate over-the-counter practical options for animal husbandry procedures and are readily available nationwide.

Our online store is now closed, however, click here to find out how to buy Numnuts products. Thank you for your continued support.

Innovating to Improve Lives

A new venture emerged with a singular focus: delivering Numnuts technology worldwide to advance animal welfare.

A History of Innovation in Animal Welfare

Numnuts technology originated from a collaborative effort involving distinguished research veterinarians from the Moredun Research Institute & CSIRO, alongside renowned product design experts from 4c Design, and with crucial support from MLAs funding. Unified by a collective dedication to advancing animal welfare in agriculture, this collaboration birthed Numnuts with the specific aim of tackling the pressing requirement for an enhanced marking tool. This tool was envisioned to not only cater to the practical needs of farmers but also uphold the paramount importance of animal well-being in agricultural practices.

Development and Innovation Process

The development journey of Numnuts was marked by relentless dedication to practicality, efficacy, and on-farm usability. Over a five-year period, hundreds of prototypes were meticulously tested, with over 5000 lambs involved in behavioural trials to ensure effectiveness and safety. Adherence to best practice scientific and animal experimentation protocols resulted in the acquisition of two international patents for Numnuts technology, underscoring its credibility and reliability.

In essence, Numnuts represents a milestone in advancing animal welfare in agriculture, epitomising the innovative spirit and collaborative efforts of experts in veterinary research and product design.

The Numnuts Story

Early 90s
The Start
At the University of Edinburgh, Prof. Vince Molony and colleagues identified the methodology for measuring pain in lambs and started to investigate the effectiveness of the use of pain relief during tail docking and castration.
Early 90s
Mid 90s
Proven
It is scientifically demonstrated that pain caused by castration and tail docking can be significantly reduced by using local anaesthetics.
Mid 90s
Late 90s
Early Trials
A prototype multi-jet injection mechanism was developed and trialled successfully in UK.
Late 90s
The cost of the prototype system was too high. Concern for farm animal welfare was less abundant than with today’s ethical consumer. When project funds dried up, the research was shelved.
2009
New Start
Consumer and retailer interest in farm animal welfare increased.

4c Design and Moredun Research partner to look into the feasibility of a novel solution. Vets & design engineers collaborate and Numnuts is born. Consumer and Retailer interest in farm animal welfare increases.
2009
2012
Australia Joins In
Industry bodies Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) and Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) recognise the need for an on-farm solution and provide funding for the research and development work.
2012
2013
CSIRO Gets Involved
R&D team is enhanced by the involvement of Dr Alison Small (RCVS) and Dr Ian Colditz (BVSc).

CSIRO Armidale Chiswick brings the Australian/NZ experience and perspective to the project.
2013
2014
Early R&D
Concept design developed & patent filed. The R&D process begins in ernest.
2014
2017
Impact
Positive results from scientific animal behaviour studies.

The team begin transitioning the project from an R&D project to a commercially available product.
2017
2018
Farm Trials
Commercial trials were carried out on 5 sheep farms in Australia, with over 15,000 lambs benefitting from Numnuts pain relief.

Engineers validate the design before mass production.
2018
2019
Production
The team made final changes and started moving Numnuts towards production for the Australian launch in summer 2019.
2019
2019
Numnuts Launched in Australia
Numnuts becmae commercially available in Australia in mid-2019.
2019
2020
Numnuts Wins Best New Product Release
Numnuts wins Best New Product Release Award at Wagin Woolarama.
2020
2020
Numnuts Wins Tesco Agri T-Jam
UK supermarket Tesco voted Numnuts the winner of its Agri T-Jam at the World Agri-Tech Summit 2020. As the winner, Numnuts is now working with Tesco (the UK’s leading retailer) and its supply chain partners.
2020
2022
Numnuts is now S5
Numnuts gets the final green light to change from S4 to S5. This opens up the channels in which farmers can purchase NumOcaine. In additional to vets, farmers can pruchas NumOcaine through our website and rural retailers. This change allows farmers across Australia to have better access to the gold standard welfare for lamb marking.
2022
2023
Numnuts in Rural Stores
Nutrien and CRT stores have now come on board to sell both our Numnuts and NumOcaine products.
2023
2024
Dechra assumes distribution responsibilities in Australia and NZ
Dechra extends the distribution network to encompass rural stores across Australia and New Zealand, enhancing accessibility to Numnuts technology for farmers in these regions.
2024

Collaborators

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CSIRO

Validated by CSIRO

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Meat & Livestock Australia

Developed in collaboration with Meat & Livestock Australia Limited ABN 39 081 678

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Australian Wool Innovation

Developed with funding from the AWI

Legal

Dechra Veterinary Products (Australia) Pty Ltd
2 Cal Close
Somersby NSW 2250
Australia

ACN: 614 716 700

ABN: 58 614 716 700

Tel: +61 2 4372 1661
E: info.au@dechra.com
W: www.dechra.com.au

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