Antibiotic resistance arising from agricultural use threatens both human health and animal welfare, as resistant bacteria reduce the effectiveness of treatments for animal infections.
Antibiotic resistance creates a vicious welfare cycle: poor welfare conditions cause disease that requires antibiotic treatment; resistant bacteria then render treatment ineffective, causing worse welfare outcomes. The dual human health and animal welfare imperative for antibiotic stewardship creates political momentum for reducing agricultural antibiotic use. The key welfare insight is that antibiotic use reduction cannot be achieved by simply removing antibiotics without addressing the underlying welfare conditions that make animals sick. Antibiotic reduction programmes must be paired with welfare improvement investments.