Antibiotic stewardship in livestock farming reduces antimicrobial resistance but must be implemented carefully to avoid creating animal welfare gaps from undertreated disease.
Antibiotic stewardship in livestock presents a genuine welfare dilemma. Reducing antibiotic use is essential for public health, but doing so without adequate alternative measures risks leaving sick animals untreated. The welfare-positive path requires simultaneous investment in disease prevention through improved husbandry, vaccination, and biosecurity, and in alternative treatments where these exist. Simply removing antibiotics without addressing the underlying disease burden that makes them necessary is both a welfare failure and likely to prove unsustainable as farmers resort to emergency treatments.