Antibiotic use in animal agriculture contributes to antimicrobial resistance that threatens both human and animal medicine, with stewardship programs seeking to preserve antibiotic effectiveness while maintaining animal welfare.
Antibiotic stewardship in animal agriculture involves complex welfare tradeoffs. Sick animals genuinely need antibiotic treatment, and restricting access to antibiotics without improving the underlying welfare conditions that cause disease creates a scenario where animals suffer untreated infections. However, routine mass medication of entire groups masks the welfare failures that necessitate widespread antibiotic use — poor housing, overcrowding, inadequate ventilation, and stress that compromise immune function. Welfare-positive antibiotic stewardship addresses root causes through improved housing and management that reduces disease incidence, uses targeted treatment of sick individuals rather than mass prophylaxis, and pairs antibiotic use with vaccination programs that prevent the diseases requiring treatment. This approach serves both individual animal welfare and the broader public health welfare of maintaining effective antibiotics for future sick animals and humans.