CAN WE FARM WITHOUT ANTIBIOTICS?

“We can’t have a situation where we have no antibiotics in farming,” says John FitzGerald, secretary general of the Responsible Use of Medicines in Agriculture (RUMA). “We need antibiotics in our armoury. But the environment has changed and we need to be far more proactive.” Emma Rose of the Alliance to Save Our Antibiotics agrees. “Antibiotics must be used to treat animals but their indiscriminate use is

unacceptable. The global increase in livestock farming has been predicated on the availability of antibiotics.” The alliance favours measures to reduce the risk of disease, such as weaning pigs later and reducing stocking densities.

RUMA says better vaccines and biosecurity are essential. Measures include changing how animals are moved around farms; keeping herds with diseased animals isolated until the disease dies out; and sterile clothing for farm workers.