The European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products Veterinary Medicines Evaluation Unit

1. Copper compounds (calcium copper edetate, copper heptanoate, copper methionate, copper chloride, copper oxide, dicopper oxide and copper gluconate) are normally used, orally in feed or in an injectable solution, to treat copper deficiency in food-producing animals. In veterinary medicine, the recommended doses are 50 to 100 mg copper per animal given as a single injection. Copper has antimicrobial properties and is used in plants and animals as a fungicide and as a foot-bath for the control of foot-rot (copper sulphate 5% to 10% solution) in cattle and sheep. Copper is authorised as a feed additive in the following doses: 35 to 175 mg/kg feed in pigs, 30 to 50 mg/kg feed in calves, 15 mg/kg feed in ovine and 35 mg/kg feed in other species.