Antibiotics Use On German Animal Farms Needs To Be Strictly Controlled

Though antibiotics use in German animal husbandry has been declining -- 15 percent less in 2014 than in 2013 – the practice has nevertheless led to some serious safety issues, specifically an increase in multi-resistant pathogens. Experts say the medications being used on German animal farms, particularly reserve antibiotics that encourage animal fattening, are important to human health and should not be on farms at all. The German government needs to impose binding reduction targets for antibiotic use, deadlines for implementing the measures and stronger controls. If such actions are not taken, within three decades 10 million people worldwide could die of infection from pathogens that are resistant to most antibiotics.