Reducing farm antibiotics through better welfare Peter Stevenson Compassion in World Farming

Most antibiotic use is in intensive sector Prophylactic use is “particularly prevalent in intensive agriculture, where animals are kept in confined conditions”: The Review on Antimicrobial Resistance, December 2015 Around 90% of UK farm antibiotic use is in pigs & poultry, the two most intensively farmed species WHO: growing demand for meat “especially when met by intensive farming practices, contributes to the massive use of antibiotics in livestock production” FAO: “the prevalence of resistance in the agricultural sector is generally higher in animal species reared under intensive production systems”

Need to “develop health-orientated systems for rearing of animals” The Lancet Infectious Diseases Commission, 2013

Italy, 2013 EFSA: “Overcrowding is a risk factor for disease expression and should be avoided” “In animal production systems with high density of animals, development and spread of infectious diseases is favoured” European Medicines Agency, 2006

“The proximity of thousands of confined animals increases the likelihood of transfer of pathogens... with consequent impacts on rates of pathogen evolution.” FAO Pro-Poor Livestock Policy Initiative US Council for Agriculture, Science and Technology has warned that a major consequence of modern industrial livestock production systems is that they potentially allow the rapid selection and amplification of pathogens Cyprus

Problem is High densities plus Excessive herd/flock size Solutions Ample space plus Moderate herd/flock size

Stress can impair immune competence making animals more vulnerable to disease Stress factors: Social stress overcrowding disruption of stable social hierarchies by mixing inability to form stable social hierarchies due to excessive group size Temperature stress: heat, cold, humidity, wind chill Inability to perform natural behaviours

Animals kept in conditions that prevent natural behaviour experience poor welfare and, due to stress, reduced immune competence. As a result they are more likely to require regular antibiotics.

Animals should be able to fully express their normal patterns of behaviour Copyright: Colin Seddon Pigs rooting Hens dust-bathing Copyright: Colin Seddon Outdoor systems are particularly well suited for this

Good indoor systems can also enable pigs to perform natural behaviours Farm in France © Jim Philpott Farm in Scotland

Good indoor systems can also enable calves and chickens to perform natural behaviours Calves with ample space, straw, natural ventilation & daylight Straw bales for broiler chickens

Comparison of organic & non-organic farms Defra funded study, 2006 Soil Assoc pigs Must be free range More space when housed No tail docking No farrowing crates Soil Assoc chickens No permanent housing More space when housed Smaller flock size Slower growing

Regular antimicrobial use facilitates early weaning The Lancet Infectious Diseases Commission, 2013 Stress caused by early weaning can have a harmful affect on the piglet’s immune system making them more prone to disease and so increasing the use of antibiotics Animals should not be weaned until they have gained immunological & nutritional independence from the sow Standard weaning: 3-4 weeks Soil Assoc weaning: Minimum: 40 days Recommended: 8 weeks or later

Comparison of antibiotic use in Danish organic & conventional pigs Type of pigOrganic Conventional Number of times conventional use greater than organic use Doses per 100 animal days Sows & piglets Weaning piglets Slaughter pigs Danish Ministry of Agriculture, 2013

Proportion of antibiotics sold for group preventive use European Medicines Agency, 2013 Sweden Farrowing crates banned Generally more space for pigs Cows have access to pasture More space for meat chickens

Health- Orientated Systems Avoid excessive group size Reduce high production levels Avoid mixing Avoid over- crowding Reduce stress Good air quality No early weaning of pigs Enable natural behaviours

56% of EU cereals are used to feed animals Globally the figure is 36% For every 100 calories of human-edible cereals fed to animals, just calories enter the human food chain as meat or milk: Lundqvist et al, 2008; UNEP, 2009 Chatham House: “staggeringly inefficient” FAO: further use of cereals as animal feed could threaten food security by reducing the grain available for human consumption

Industrial livestock production: a key driver of environmental degradation The need to grow huge amounts of grain to feed factory farmed animals has fuelled intensive crop production with its use of agro- chemicals & monocultures This has degraded soil quality Leads to overuse of arable land: “a very inefficient use of land to produce food”: Bajželj et al, 2014 Leads to pollution & overuse of ground & surface water Erodes biodiversity

Consumption of high levels of red and processed meat that have been made possible by industrial farming can lead to obesity, diabetes, heart diseases & certain cancers

Well below 2°C We can’t hit the Paris target without a reduction in meat & dairy consumption By 2050, on a business-as-usual basis our diets alone likely to have taken us above the ‘well below 2°C’ target : Bajželj et al, 2014

Feeding the 2.6 billion extra people anticipated by 2050

People (in billions)

Feeding the 2.6 billion extra people anticipated by 2050 People (in billions)

Feeding the 2.6 billion extra people anticipated by 2050 People (in billions) Extra people (in billions) that could be fed by reducing over consumption Based on data from UNEP, 2009; Cassidy et al, 2013;High Level Panel of Experts of the Committee on World Security, 2014; World Resources Institute, 2013,

Many thanks to Cóilín Nunan of the Alliance to Save our Antibiotics for his help and expertise in the preparation of this presentation