Government Plans
The Government’s 5 year National Plan In October 2017, highlighted that voluntary targets for reducing antibiotic use in animals were agreed for eight key livestock areas.
🔗 Source:Tackling antimicrobial resistance 2019-2024
Apparent recognition of the risks and need for good husbandry and disease control
Over 98 pages various ways are imagined to improve the situation BUT nothing about addressing root cause AND god forbid
AMR is naturally occurring. Preventing and controlling infections that are likely to be treated with antimicrobials is one way of
reducing the need for these medicines, and as such is fundamental in tackling AMR. The more we use and misuse anti-infectives and
antimicrobials, in both human and animal medicine, the faster resistance will develop and spread. We need to take every
opportunity to prevent infections and the need to use antimicrobials.
Our approach focuses on reducing animals’ exposure and susceptibility to pathogens that could result in the need for treatment with antimicrobials. We cannot hope to reduce these to zero, but we can try to minimise them (see Figure 8). Effective infection control is
critical, not only by animal owners but also by their veterinarians, people who organise animal movements or gatherings, and anyone else that regularly comes into contact with one or more animals. Good animal husbandry practices are also important. So too is
increasing the range and uptake of animal vaccines.
Food and feed can be contaminated with resistant bacteria on the farm and from various sources such as slaughter and processing. Once in food, some of these bacteria can spread AMR far and wide through trade, causing infections throughout the food chain.
Foodborne diarrhoeal diseases in themselves already pose a major health threat; the WHO estimate these diseases kill 230,000 people globally each year. Those caused by drug-resistant bacteria, such as Salmonella, pose a particular risk to human health because of possible treatment failure; bacteria like E. coli and Enterococcus spp., can carry resistance genes that can be transferred to other human pathogens, fuelling the
spread of resistance even further.
2.3.1 Support animal husbandry practices that prevent endemic diseases
There is an opportunity to move to high health production systems that result in healthier, more productive animals, better financial performance for keepers of farmed animals and reduced need for antibiotics.
Optimising biosecurity and animal husbandry practices, for example, by obtaining information on the health status of bought in animals, is important in managing common disease. In the UK, we have worked with our livestock industry and animal keepers to raise awareness of the importance of preventing disease. In partnership, we have developed standards on animal welfare and responsible use of medicines, and work collaboratively to ensure those standards are met.
To promote animal husbandry that prevents endemic diseases, the UK will:
◾ Develop plans with the veterinary profession and livestock industry to improve animal health and address endemic disease issues through disease control schemes, veterinary advice and health planning, and tools for promoting knowledge transfer (such as guidance,
training and communication).
◾ Work with the veterinary profession to encourage best practices for infection control in companion animals (pets) and horses and address infection risks specific to companion animals.
◾ Evaluate the impact of changes in animal husbandry practices and antibiotic use on farm economics and use the findings to promote best practice.
◾ Encourage regular monitored animal health planning as a key strategy for infection prevention and control in farmed animal enterprises. Review the effectiveness of animal health planning interventions to learn and disseminate best practice at regional and national level
Don’t mention the F words!
No mention ANYWHERE of trying to decrease use or improve animal health by reducing the number of Factory Farms. No mention ANYWHERE of COVID which speaks to a lack of systematic thinking and should act as learning for what Factory Farming entails when we’re thinking about disease.
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