Antibiotics are widely used in cattle farming for disease treatment and, in some countries, growth promotion. Overuse threatens both animal welfare through resistant infections and global human health through antimicrobial resistance.
The relationship between antimicrobial use and animal welfare is complex. Antibiotics are genuinely necessary to treat painful bacterial infections — denying antibiotics to sick animals causes suffering. The welfare problem arises from prophylactic and growth-promotion use that drives resistance without treating disease. As antibiotic-resistant infections become more prevalent, the animals that contract them suffer more because effective treatments are diminished. Conditions that drive heavy antibiotic use — overcrowding, poor ventilation, stress — are themselves welfare compromises. Systems that reduce antibiotic use through improved biosecurity, vaccination, selective breeding for disease resistance, and better husbandry ultimately benefit both animal welfare and public health. Welfare certification schemes increasingly incorporate antibiotic stewardship requirements.