Antibiotic resistance arising from veterinary use threatens both animal and human health, and the welfare implications of resistance-driven treatment failure are severe.
Antibiotic resistance has profound welfare implications. When effective antibiotics are no longer available to treat bacterial infections in farm animals, animals suffer prolonged pain and die from conditions that were previously treatable. Responsible antibiotic stewardship that preserves efficacy for when it is genuinely needed is therefore a welfare imperative as well as a public health necessity. Farms that have reduced antibiotic use through improved management often achieve this alongside better animal health outcomes.