How antibiotic resistance in farm settings creates welfare harms for animals and the co-benefits of reducing antibiotic use through improved welfare conditions.
Antibiotic resistance and animal welfare are deeply linked problems with aligned solutions. The welfare conditions that drive disease — crowding, poor ventilation, inadequate pain management, stress — are the same conditions that create antibiotic dependence. Improving welfare reduces disease, which reduces antibiotic need, which slows resistance development. This is one of animal welfare's clearest aligned-interest arguments: better welfare produces better antibiotic stewardship. Policy frameworks that address resistance must address welfare conditions rather than treating antibiotic use as a behavioural problem separable from its root causes in production system design.