The overuse of antibiotics in farm animal production drives antimicrobial resistance while also reflecting welfare problems in farming systems that require such heavy medication.
The connection between antibiotic use and animal welfare runs in both directions. Systems that rely heavily on antibiotics are often doing so because underlying welfare problems - overcrowding, stress, poor ventilation, inadequate nutrition - create disease pressure that requires pharmaceutical intervention. The antibiotics treat symptoms without addressing root causes of animal suffering. Conversely, reducing antibiotic use without addressing these underlying welfare problems would simply mean more animals suffering from untreated disease. The countries and companies that have most successfully reduced antibiotic use have done so by improving living conditions, reducing stocking density, and implementing better biosecurity - changes that simultaneously improve animal welfare and reduce antibiotic dependence.