March 8, 2021

 
Germany sees drop in antibiotic use in livestock farms in 2020

The amount of antibiotics used at all livestock farms in Germany continued to drop in 2020 compared to 2019, according to the country's QS quality system, the leading German standard for food safety.

Pig farms were able to make the greatest reductions: down 9.3 tonnes compared to the previous year, and down by over 43% compared to 2014 - the year the entire pig production was recorded in the QS antibiotic monitoring for the first time.

The current figures from antibiotics monitoring again reveal that veterinarians in the QS system only prescribe critical antibiotics in more serious emergencies when all alternatives in the treatment of sick animals have been exhausted.

- QS (Germany)