Sweden and Denmark have demonstrated that significant antibiotic use reduction in livestock farming is achievable without major production losses, providing a model for global reform.
The Danish experience of antibiotic reduction demonstrates something important for welfare advocates: reducing antibiotic dependence required improving welfare conditions in farming systems. The connection runs both ways — welfare improvements reduce disease pressure and antibiotic need, while antibiotic reduction creates incentives to invest in welfare improvements that prevent disease. This positive feedback loop between welfare and antibiotic stewardship makes the welfare and public health agendas natural allies in livestock policy reform.