Antibiotic use in livestock represents a welfare and public health challenge, with the highest-welfare systems relying less on antibiotics by preventing disease through better animal management.
The relationship between animal welfare and antibiotic use is complex but important. Animals in poor welfare conditions including high stocking density, inadequate ventilation, and chronic stress have compromised immune systems that require antibiotic support. Reducing antibiotic use without improving underlying conditions causes suffering from untreated disease. Improving welfare conditions reduces disease incidence and therefore antibiotic requirements. The EU ban on preventive group antibiotic use requires that treatment is only given to animals diagnosed with disease, not preventively to groups. This creates pressure to improve conditions that make preventive treatment unnecessary. Higher-welfare systems consistently demonstrate lower antibiotic use, showing that welfare and antibiotic reduction are complementary goals.