Game bird antibiotic use halved

The use of antibiotics in UK game bird production has more than halved in the past two years, following a push to prevent antimicrobial resistance.

A voluntary campaign was launched in 2016, amid global concerns that the overuse of antibiotics could lead to the evolution of bugs that would not respond to treatment. The Government asked all livestock sectors to reduce their use and recent figures announced by the Game Farmers’ Association (GFA) show the great strides made by the game bird industry.

Antibiotic use in UK game birds has fallen by 51 per cent in the past two years, with medication in game bird feed reduced by 70 per cent. Producers have been encouraged to limit usage to treating actual disease outbreaks rather than feeding medicated rations as a preventative measure.

A spokesman for the GFA said: “A further year of good engagement by the game bird sector in 2018 has brought overall usage of antibiotics down by another 24 per cent this year. Together with last year’s substantial fall, this confirms that the industry has halved antibiotic use since our voluntary campaign was rolled out in 2016.”

The news was welcomed by rural and shooting groups, including the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation, whose vicechairman, Geoff Garrod, commented: “Reducing antibiotics is good, not just because we need to play our part in the worldwide campaign to do so but because it also makes us more alert to potential disease problems and avoiding trouble in the first place. If you know you can’t fall back on antibiotics, you just have to make sure you are doing the job properly.”