A report has been published by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the Veterinary Medicines Directorate telling the story of how the UK has successfully implemented measures to reduce the unnecessary use of antibiotics in farming and achieved the halving of antibiotic sales in animals since 2014 and over the same period, the use of highest-priority critically important antibiotics has reduced by 79%.
The United Kingdom approach has differed to many other countries when developing its system of antibiotic stewardship. Rather than regulating, the government has worked in collaboration with farmers and vets, supporting them to lead action on reducing the unnecessary use of antibiotics.
Each farming sector has individually developed tailored approaches, improving husbandry and adopting disease prevention measures to reduce reliance on antibiotics.
Key to the success of this approach has been the industry taking ownership of the issue and driving the work, for example through the formation of the Targets Task Force (TTF) convened by the Responsible Use of Medicines in Agriculture (RUMA) Alliance. The TTF, composed of a specialist farmer and vet representing each livestock sector, has been an enormously successful initiative which has provided a forum for learning and experience to be shared across all sectors.
The United Kingdom’s reduction in antibiotic consumption in agriculture makes it one of the lowest users of antibiotics across Europe, and the lowest of those countries with a significant livestock farming industry.
The full report can be found at https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/cc0927en