The overuse of antibiotics in farming remains widespread: worldwide, approximately 66% of antibiotics are used in farm animals and data published by the World Organization for Animal Health in May 2024 showed that global farm antibiotic use actually increased by 2% from 2019 to 2021.
However, in some countries, including in particular in Europe, major reductions in farm antibiotic use have been achieved. The actions which have tended to contribute most to reducing antibiotic use include:
In most European countries where farm antibiotic use has been significantly reduced, including Denmark, France, the Netherlands and the UK, reduction efforts have focused on primarily on regulating to eliminate routine use, or phasing out routine use through voluntary action, as well as on improving antibiotic-use data collection.
As a result, overall European farm antibiotic sales fell by 53% between 2011 and 2022 for the 25 countries which have data covering this period. This has contributed to reductions in antibiotic resistant from livestock in some European countries.
However, use generally remains far higher than it should be. Group treatments still account for a large majority of European farm antibiotic use (85%). This suggests that antibiotic use is not sufficiently targeted, and is partly occurring to control diseases at a herd level that are being caused by farming practices. The average European level of use is also significantly higher than in the lowest-using countries in Europe.
The European countries with by far the lowest level of farm antibiotic use are Norway, Iceland, Sweden and Finland. In these countries, the overwhelming majority of farm antbiotic use is for individual treatments, with just 10-25% being used for group treatments.
These Nordic countries can have higher animal-welfare standards, particularly for the pig industry, than many other European countries. Later weaning of piglets, the use of straw bedding, prohibitions on routine tail docking of piglets and improved diets have all contributed to better pig health and less need for antibiotics.
Animals farmed with full access to the outdoors, in conditions which are not overly intensive, require far fewer antibiotics than those farmed entirely indoors.
Extensively raised species such as sheep, or cattle raised outdoors for beef, have very low antibiotic use in comparison to species like pigs and poultry which are generally reared in intensive, indoor conditions.
Many production practices employed by organic and other higher-welfare systems greatly reduce the need for antibiotics. These practices include using slower-growing breeds, lower stocking densities and lower herd or flock sizes, access to the outdoors, later weaning of piglets and other measures aimed at optimising animal health and welfare.
Organically farmed animals are treated far less frequently than those farmed intensively, and groups of organic animals never receive antibiotics routinely or preventatively.
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