Reducing antibiotic use in livestock farming requires improving welfare to prevent disease rather than treating it, creating alignment between antibiotic stewardship and animal welfare goals.
Antibiotic stewardship and animal welfare are closely aligned: animals in good welfare states have better immune function and lower disease incidence, reducing the need for antibiotic treatment. Farms that address the root causes of disease — overcrowding, poor ventilation, nutritional deficiency, stress — simultaneously improve welfare and reduce antibiotic dependence. The push to reduce agricultural antibiotic use as a public health measure creates a policy window for requiring welfare improvements as the mechanism for disease prevention.