Livestock Welfare and Antibiotic Resistance: A One Health Connection

Antibiotic use in livestock production is linked to antibiotic resistance that threatens both human and animal welfare, creating alignment between welfare improvement and public health.

Key Facts

Global livestock antibiotic use accounts for approximately 70% of total antibiotic consumption in many countries
Subtherapeutic antibiotic use for growth promotion was banned in the EU in 2006 and is being phased out globally
High-welfare farming conditions that reduce disease incidence through better husbandry significantly reduce antibiotic use requirements
Netherlands reduced agricultural antibiotic use by over 60% between 2009 and 2019 without production losses through welfare-focused farming
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria originating in livestock can transfer to humans through food, direct contact, and environmental pathways
The WHO Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance identifies livestock antibiotic stewardship as a critical priority

Welfare Considerations

The connection between livestock welfare and antibiotic resistance creates a powerful alignment between animal welfare improvement and human health protection. Animals kept in poor welfare conditions with high disease burden require more antibiotic treatment, driving resistance. Animals in high-welfare conditions with lower disease incidence require less treatment. Improving livestock welfare is therefore simultaneously an animal welfare intervention and a public health intervention. This alignment provides a strong policy argument for welfare investment that extends beyond animal ethics to human health security.

What You Can Do

Choose meat and dairy products from producers with documented reduced antibiotic use and welfare-based husbandry
Support policies that phase out prophylactic antibiotic use in livestock and require welfare-based disease prevention
Advocate for One Health approaches to antibiotic stewardship that include livestock welfare improvement as a core strategy
Follow antibiotic resistance reporting and understand the livestock welfare connection when engaging in public health discussions