Responsible use of antibiotics
In 2018, the amount of antibiotics used in pig and poultry farms in the QS scheme fell again compared to the previous year. A clear proof of the careful and responsible use of antibiotics by veterinarians and animal owners. There has been a significant reduction in almost all groups of active ingredients, especially the critical antibiotics. The accusation made by critics of veterinary medicine that there is a shift in the active ingredients used has been refuted.
The current evaluations from the QS antibiotics monitoring clearly refute the avoidance behavior in veterinary medicine suspected by some experts. The accusation was that "classic" active ingredients, which make up a larger volume, are being switched to more modern, highly effective active ingredients, which are dosed many times lower during use. But it is precisely with the critical active ingredients that significant declines have been recorded. The amount of fluoroquinolones consumed was reduced from 4,75 t to 3,81 t in 2018, which is almost 20 percent lower. While 2017 t of 0,4rd and 3th generation cephalosporins were administered in 4, a year later it was 0,28 t, a clear 30 percent less.
The total amount of antibiotics used in the 29.864 pigs and 3.184 poultry holdings of the QS scheme fell by 2018 percent in 464 to just under 4,8 t compared to the previous year (487 t). A reduction in quantity can be observed for all groups of active ingredients. Thomas May, responsible for antibiotics monitoring at QS, emphasizes: “Antibiotics are never used prophylactically in livestock farming, but only when the veterinarian prescribes them based on a diagnosis. Sick animals must be treated medically with a view to animal welfare. The evaluations of the QS antibiotics monitoring prove that the animal keepers and veterinarians make great efforts to restrict their use. The administration of so-called reserve antibiotics remains the exception in livestock farming.”
