Antibiotic use in livestock serves both welfare and production purposes, but overuse drives antimicrobial resistance. Understanding this tension helps identify welfare-positive approaches to antibiotic stewardship.
The relationship between antibiotic use and animal welfare is more complex than it might appear. Antibiotics treat genuine illness and their therapeutic use is welfare-positive - sick animals receiving treatment suffer less than untreated animals. The welfare problem arises from systems so intensive that disease is endemic and antibiotics are used prophylactically to manage what are essentially environmental welfare deficits. Reducing antibiotic use sustainably requires addressing the underlying welfare conditions that make disease endemic - overcrowding, inadequate ventilation, poor nutrition, and stress. Antibiotic reduction achieved through welfare improvement rather than denial of treatment represents a genuine advancement. Reduction achieved by withholding treatment from sick animals is a welfare harm disguised as stewardship.