UK pig sector cuts down antibiotic use by 75 per cent over eight-year period

By Chris Wright, Partner and ARA specialist

The Responsible Use of Medicines in Agriculture (RUMA) had originally created the Targets Task Force 2 (TTF2) to reduce antibiotic use in the pig sector by 30 per cent between 2020 and 2024. Just three years in, and the sector has reached this target. In the past eight years, antibiotic use on pigs has fallen by 75 per cent.

Antibiotic use in 2022 stood at 70mg/PCU, down significantly from 87mg/PCU in 2021. These figures are in stark contrast to 2015, when antibiotic use stood at 278mg/PCU.

Grace Webster, vet, and chair of the Pig Health and Welfare Council Antimicrobial Usage Subgroup said: “This year’s significant reduction in antibiotic use on the UK’s pig farms takes the sector below the TTF2 target and in part, reflects the extended use of Zinc Oxide manufactured before the withdrawal of its marketing authorisation which the VMD (Veterinary Medicines Directorate) authorised up to the end of the shelf life of that product.

“This has avoided an anticipated rise in antibiotic use to treat Post Weaning Diarrhoea in 2022 but as supplies run out in the coming months, this may still be an issue that vets and pig producers are yet to face,” she added.

The news follows data released last year which confirmed that the majority of dairy herds had achieved the industry target of 21mg/kg PCU by March 2021, as set out by RUMA.

Are you looking to optimise your finances amidst evolving antibiotic practices? Please contact us today for more advice.