Responsible and sustainable use of medicines in dairy herd health

Publication date: 07/08/2017
Extent: 18 pages

Contributions by: David C. Barrett, Kristen K. Reyher, Andrea Turner and David A. Tisdall, University of Bristol, UK

Chapter synopsis: As well as having a moral obligation to safeguard animal health and welfare, veterinarians and dairy producers also have One Health responsibilities to protect human health and the environment from the risk of antimicrobial resistance and the food chain from medicine residues. This chapter describes the regulatory control of medicines in the United Kingdom and European Union, and discusses the wider implications of antimicrobial use in dairy production and the need for change in the way we view and use medicines. The chapter proposes how medicine prescribing practices might be changed in the dairy industry, and reports data showing that certain critically important antimicrobials can be phased out over a relatively short period, whilst simultaneously improving animal health, welfare and milk production.

DOI: 10.19103/AS.2016.0006.26