Kiwi farmers continue to put their best foot forward when it comes to best farming practices.
Total sales of veterinary and horticultural antibiotics in New Zealand are down for a sixth year running.
“Antibiotics are essential for the treatment of bacterial infections in humans, animals, and plants. But they need to be used responsibly to prevent antimicrobial resistance (AMR),” New Zealand Food Safety acting deputy-director general Jenny Bishop said.
“The World Health Organization has identified AMR as one of the top 10 global health threats facing humanity. So, it’s vital we ensure our current antibiotics can continue to be used.
“These results, released today [18 September] in our latest Antibiotic Agricultural Compound Sales Analysis, are a clear sign that antibiotics are being more carefully used, which is great news for human and animal health.
Bishop said the results are a direct result of the concerted effort by veterinarians, farmers, industry and New Zealand Food Safety to ensure these life-saving medicines are used appropriately so they stay effective.
The latest report evaluates 15 classes of antibiotics sold during 2023 for use for farm animals, pets and horticulture. We use this sales data as a proxy for measuring use.
Antibiotics sold for animal use were distributed among 24 million sheep, 10 million cattle, 124 million poultry, 600,000 pigs, 148,000 horses, 2 million household pets, and many other species.
“Since a 2017 peak of 71,361kg, total antibiotic sales have dropped to 39,549kg in 2023. That’s an impressive 45% decrease.”
“Apart from tracking sales for the valuable insights they provide, New Zealand Food Safety is doing other important work to help decrease AMR.
She said New Zealand Food Safety is currently reviewing regulatory oversight of antibiotics used in plants and animals. This could lead to a further reduction in antibiotic use, as controls for some antibiotics might be tightened.
“This extensive piece of work, which involves reassessing hundreds of antibiotic products, has been divided into 4 tranches.
Tranche one has been completed and tranche two is underway.”
