NZ must stop feeding healthy animals antibiotics

We need to stop feeding healthy animals antibiotics, Green Party food spokesperson Sue Kedgley said today.

The World Health Organisation has warned in its latest report that the routine feeding of antibiotics to animals in agriculture is contributing to increased drug resistance among humans.

“About 60% of the antibiotics that are used in New Zealand are administered to animals,” said Ms Kedgley.

“This practice is creating a situation where antibiotic resistant bacteria are spreading to humans.”

Ms Kedgley said poultry farmers claim they use antibiotics to prevent disease from sweeping through their flocks. However many also use antibiotics as a way to make their animals grow more quickly - a side effect of feeding antibiotics to animals.

“New Zealand must follow the lead of countries such as Sweden and restrict the use of antibiotics in agriculture for treatment only,” Ms Kedgley said.

“Most of the antibiotics used in New Zealand agriculture are from the same classes of antibiotics that are used in human medicine.”

Ms Kedgley said the most concerning aspect of this was that of the 55 tonnes of antibiotics used in agriculture annually, around 95% were from the same classes used in human medicine.

“Feeding antibiotics continuously to animals, especially ones that are also medically important, is putting human health at risk.”

Ms Kedgley secured Government funding in 2008 for the establishment of an Antibiotics Monitoring Surveillance system, and for a study on the amount of antibiotic use in animal agriculture.

“The study should have been released by now,” said Ms Kedgley.

“I call on the Minister of Food Safety to ensure its release, so that New Zealanders can have some transparency on the practice of feeding antibiotics to animals.”

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