Livestock Antibiotic Use and Welfare Equity

The global distribution of antibiotic use in animal agriculture is deeply inequitable, with high-income countries transitioning toward stewardship while low-income countries expand use with fewer welfare safeguards.

Key Facts

Global antibiotic use in livestock is projected to increase by 52% between 2020 and 2030, mostly in low and middle income countries
China, India, Brazil, the US, and Australia account for the majority of veterinary antibiotic use
Low-income countries often use antibiotics to compensate for poor husbandry conditions rather than treating specific diseases
Antibiotic resistance driven by agricultural use in any country affects human medicine globally
International cooperation through One Health frameworks addresses livestock antibiotic use as a global welfare concern

Welfare Considerations

Antibiotic stewardship in animal agriculture has a welfare equity dimension: the high-use conditions that antibiotics compensate for in low-income country production — overcrowding, poor nutrition, high disease pressure — represent welfare failures that antibiotics mask rather than resolve. Reducing antibiotic use in these contexts requires addressing the underlying welfare conditions that make high antibiotic use necessary: improving husbandry, reducing stocking density, and providing appropriate veterinary care. International support for welfare-improving production system transitions is both a welfare intervention and an antibiotic resistance prevention strategy.

What You Can Do

Support One Health initiatives that link animal welfare improvement to antibiotic stewardship globally
Advocate for international trade standards that include antibiotic use and welfare requirements
Donate to organizations working on sustainable, lower-antibiotic livestock systems in developing countries
Engage with the global antibiotic resistance crisis as a welfare justice issue linked to farm animal conditions