Question 1

How often are herds or flocks group-treated with antibiotics?

diana@diananewson.co.uk · Accepted Answer

There are no data to show how often different species of animals receive group treatment of antibiotics in the UK, but there are some data which can indicate treatment patterns. Data collected on antibiotic treatments for farm animals in the UK is primarily through information on sales (see the 2018 VARSS report). This includes the administration route for antibiotics sold, for example premix (in feed), oral/by water, injectable, tablet or intramammary (into the udder via the teat canal). Premix and in-water are the main administration routes through which group treatment takes place, and it can be seen in the sales data that treatment through premix has fallen by two-thirds since 2014, and in-water by a third, suggesting that group treatments as a whole have fallen significantly in the UK.

Question 2

How often are herds or flocks group-treated with antibiotics?

diana@diananewson.co.uk · Accepted Answer

There are no data to show how often different species of animals receive group treatment of antibiotics in the UK, but there are some data which can indicate treatment patterns. Data collected on antibiotic treatments for farm animals in the UK is primarily through information on sales (see the 2018 VARSS report). This includes the administration route for antibiotics sold, for example premix (in feed), oral/by water, injectable, tablet or intramammary (into the udder via the teat canal). Premix and in-water are the main administration routes through which group treatment takes place, and it can be seen in the sales data that treatment through premix has fallen by two-thirds since 2014, and in-water by a third, suggesting that group treatments as a whole have fallen significantly in the UK.