Livestock Antibiotic Stewardship and Animal Welfare

Antibiotic use in livestock has welfare and public health implications. Stewardship programs that reduce prophylactic use while improving welfare are emerging as the gold standard.

Key Facts

Approximately 70% of globally used antibiotics are used in food-producing animals
Routine prophylactic antibiotic use often masks poor welfare conditions rather than addressing root causes
Antibiotic resistance threatens both animal and human medicine — a shared welfare challenge
Countries reducing antibiotic use in livestock (Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands) have maintained productivity with welfare improvements
The EU banned prophylactic group antibiotic treatment in 2022 under new veterinary medicine regulations

Welfare Considerations

Antibiotic stewardship and animal welfare are deeply connected. High antibiotic use in production systems is often a symptom of underlying welfare problems: poor housing, overcrowding, and inadequate disease prevention that make antibiotics necessary to maintain production. True stewardship requires addressing these root causes — improving conditions so that animals are healthy enough not to require routine medication. This approach aligns welfare improvement with antibiotic reduction, delivering benefits for both animal welfare and public health.

What You Can Do

Support farms with low antibiotic use as indicated by veterinary health plan data
Advocate for mandatory antibiotic use reporting and targets in your country
Choose animal products from certified lower-antibiotic production systems
Support investment in animal vaccines and non-antibiotic disease prevention research
Engage with policy processes developing antibiotic stewardship guidelines for livestock