Responsible antibiotic use on farms protects both animal welfare — by ensuring effective treatment when needed — and human health through reduced antimicrobial resistance.
Antibiotic stewardship and animal welfare are deeply linked. Animals in crowded, stressful conditions require more antibiotics to manage disease — creating both welfare harms and resistance risk. Conversely, high-welfare systems with good nutrition, enrichment, and biosecurity are inherently more resistant to disease outbreaks, reducing antibiotic dependency naturally. The transition away from routine prophylactic antibiotic use requires investment in farm welfare infrastructure and veterinary herd health support, but yields long-term benefits for animal health, farmer viability, and public health.