Antibiotic resistance is a growing global health threat closely linked to antibiotic use in animal agriculture. Reducing veterinary antibiotic use while maintaining animal welfare requires careful management and genuine welfare investment.
Antibiotic stewardship and animal welfare are deeply connected: the primary way to reduce antibiotic use without harming animal welfare is to improve the conditions that cause animals to need treatment in the first place. Better ventilation, appropriate stocking density, lower stress environments, and good nutrition all reduce disease incidence and therefore antibiotic demand. This creates a virtuous cycle where welfare investment reduces antibiotic use, which benefits public health, which in turn builds consumer trust in welfare-certified products. Systems that rely on routine prophylactic antibiotics to maintain production in poor welfare conditions cannot achieve responsible antibiotic stewardship without fundamental management change.