Farm Animal Welfare

Farm Animal Welfare and Antimicrobial Stewardship

Improving farm animal welfare reduces disease incidence and antibiotic use, making welfare improvement a core component of antimicrobial stewardship strategies.

Key Facts

Overcrowding, poor nutrition and stress impair immune function and increase disease susceptibility
Higher welfare production systems consistently show lower antibiotic use than intensive equivalents
Sweden achieved 50% reduction in animal antibiotics use through welfare improvements
The One Health approach links human, animal and environmental antibiotic resistance management
Welfare improvements that reduce infection rates are more sustainable than antibiotic rotation alone

Welfare Considerations

Farm animal welfare and antibiotic stewardship are mutually reinforcing goals. Improved welfare reduces the disease burden that drives antibiotic use. Investment in welfare-improving farm design, management and genetics delivers both animal welfare and public health benefits simultaneously.

What You Can Do

Choose certified products from farms with documented low antibiotic use
Support One Health policy advocacy linking welfare improvement to resistance management
Advocate for welfare improvements as the primary antibiotic stewardship strategy