September 5, 2022

Germany updates veterinary drugs law

Germany has passed a bill to amend its veterinary drugs law.

The bill concerns a concept of antibiotic use reduction that is to be implemented and expanded in order to improve registration and permanently reduce the use of antibiotics in veterinary medicine, both in terms of active substances and application.

The concept, which currently applies exclusively to the finishing of animals, will, in future, also include dairy cow, laying hen and breeding sow farms. The use of antibiotics is to be systematically recorded and reduced on these farms.

The relevant supervisory authorities are to be reinforced. The aim is that local authorities will be legally obliged to issue orders and take measures if necessary to reduce the use of antibiotics on a livestock farm.

For colistin, fluoroquinolones and 3rd- and 4th-generation cephalosporins, a weighting factor is included in the antibiotic minimisation concept. This conveys to veterinarians and animal caretakers to reduce the use of these critically important antibiotics to the minimum.

The bill also dictates rules for the implementation of EU legislation. As a result, starting in 2024, EU member states will be required to submit complete data on the use of antibiotics in animals to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on an annual basis.

- BMEL (Germany)