February 3, 2022

 

UK government urged by campaigners to enact stronger farm antibiotic laws

 

UK campaigners of the Alliance to Save Our Antibiotics (ASOA) are urging the UK government to act on its promises to raise standards on farm antibiotic laws.

 

"British farmers have voluntarily reduced their antibiotic use by 50% in recent years," said Cóilín Nunan, ASOA's scientific advisor. "But much larger cuts can still be achieved if the government introduces new laws ending preventative antibiotic group treatments and increasing minimum animal health and welfare standards.

 

"On the other hand, if the government pursues a trade policy which cuts tariffs on the importation of meat and dairy produced with extremely high antibiotic use – including the use of antibiotic growth promoters – then in order to compete, British farmers could be compelled to reduce their own animal health and welfare standards and increase their use of antibiotics."

 

UK farmers are allowed to administer antibiotics to farm animals to compensate for inadequate welfare standards, lack of care or poor hygiene.

 

In the European Union, a new legislation has banned all forms of routine antibiotic use for farm animals. They have also banned imports of meat, dairy, fish and eggs that have been produced using antibiotics to stimulate rapid growth in the animals.

 

The legislation was laid out in 2018. As for the UK, the government has not published its own legislative proposals for ending excessive farm antibiotic use three years later. It remains legal in the country to routinely administer antibiotics to farm animals, rather than when they are sick or have an infection.

 

It also remains legal to import animal foods produced with antibiotic growth promoters. The campaigners assert that any nascent trade deals the UK makes must also protect UK farmers from cheap lower welfare imports.

 

"The UK's developing independent trade policy risks opening up the UK market to animal products from countries where antibiotics are significantly overused, unless sufficient safeguards are in place. This could place UK farmers at a commercial disadvantage," said the ASOA.

 

Over the past two years, UK farm antibiotic use has stabilised at a level which is "far higher than is sustainable or necessary," according to the organisation, particularly in intensive pig production.

 

Antibiotic use in the UK pig industry remains over two and a half times higher per pig than it is in Denmark or the Netherlands, and over six times higher than in Sweden.

 

- Food Ingredients First