Responsible antibiotic use in cattle farming is essential for both animal welfare and public health, requiring that sick animals receive effective treatment while unnecessary prophylactic use is minimized.
Antibiotic stewardship creates a genuine welfare tension: sick animals should receive effective treatment, but overuse drives resistance that will eventually undermine that treatment. The resolution is not to withhold treatment from sick animals but to eliminate unnecessary use — growth promotion, prophylactic mass treatment of healthy animals, and use as a substitute for good animal husbandry. Sick animals that are denied effective treatment due to poorly designed antibiotic reduction policies face unnecessary suffering. Stewardship programs that preserve antibiotic effectiveness through targeted, veterinary-supervised use ensure that sick animals can continue to receive the treatment they need now and in the future.