Antibiotic use in animal agriculture raises both welfare and public health concerns. Understanding the tradeoffs guides policies that protect animal welfare while preserving antibiotic effectiveness.
Antibiotic welfare tradeoffs require distinguishing between legitimate therapeutic use and prophylactic use that masks poor welfare conditions. Therapeutic antibiotics for sick animals are a welfare obligation — withholding treatment from animals who could be cured with antibiotics causes preventable suffering. Prophylactic use to prevent disease in conditions that stress animals reflects a welfare problem that antibiotics mask rather than solve. The appropriate welfare response to prophylactic antibiotic dependence is improving the underlying conditions causing disease susceptibility — reducing stocking density, improving ventilation, better nutrition — rather than simply eliminating antibiotics. Regulatory frameworks that distinguish therapeutic from prophylactic use protect both animal welfare and public health from antibiotic resistance.