Resistant bacteria can be found on almost all surfaces, at work and at home. Studies have found them everywhere from computers keyboards to make-up bags and on public transport. In farming, they are on plants and animals, around large and small farms, in organic and conventional produce, and in pets and horses. This is because resistance develops naturally as bacteria defend themselves against attack from other microbes that produce antibiotics. Resistant bacteria millions of years old have been found in the ice caps and in the frozen remains of woolly mammoths.

Antibiotics are legitimately used in farm animals, under prescription by a vet to treat animal diseases. Farm system type is often suggested by popular media to affect the development of resistance. However it’s the level of use of antibiotics that is the contributing  factor – and this is not necessarily linked to farm scale or system.

The use of veterinary medicines – including antibiotics – can sometimes result in low concentrations of the medicine being present within the animal’s system for a period of time. This is usually at a low level – measured in parts per million. Strict withdrawal periods are stipulated for each licensed medicine to ensure that food is safe for consumption when it arrives in the food chain. These are based on rigorous testing regimes, and give time for medicines to be excreted from the animal or fall to a level that will not cause harm or any adverse reaction in humans should they be eaten. This means any medicine residues must be below a safe level l by the time meat or milk can enter the food chain.

Controlled intervention to prevent the outbreak and further spread of disease in infected or carrier animals, based on sound professional examination and advice many sometimes be required. Most British veterinary and farming organisations do not support routine preventative use of antibiotics. Antibiotics must not be used to compensate for poor hygiene or for inadequate husbandry conditions or where improvements in animal husbandry could reduce the need for antibiotic treatment.

Oral treatment of groups of animals through their feed or water  can be the most effective treatment method in some farm scenarios. Catching and injecting individual animals can be very stressful to the animal. In-feed or in water medication may therefore provide the most practicable option in many cases. It should be up to the vet and the farmer to decide the optimum way to administer medication, which remains under veterinary control or prescription.

In the UK, a medically qualified doctor or veterinarian must prescribe antibiotics for the general public, pet owners or farmers to be able to obtain them. In farming, the vet has a responsibility to check whether antibiotics are required and the health of the animals involved.

Antibiotics are important medicines and if an animal requires veterinary treatment in the form of antibiotics, then it is important that the animal gets that treatment. RUMA supports responsible and prudent use of antibiotics  – as little as possible, as much as is necessary – so we should seek to use them only when they are needed, in the right way and in the right dose. Their use should not be stopped completely as this would compromise the health and welfare of the animals. The UK farming industry has embraced the responsible use of antibiotics, and UK sales of antibiotics for food producing animals show reductions of 55% since 2014. This means the UK is one of the lowest users of antibiotics to treat farm animals in Europe.