Tackling Antimicrobial Use and Resistance in Food-Producing Animals: Lessons Learned in the United Kingdom

This publication describes the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland’s multisectoral voluntary approach to antibiotic stewardship in food-producing animals, developed as a collaboration between industry and government. It is a tribute to all those involved for their tremendous efforts, commitment, and continuous work to improve responsible use of antibiotics and achieve significant reductions in their use across livestock sectors. Keys to success include the development of strong relationships between producers, veterinarians and government, industry-led target-setting and cross-sectoral learning and sharing of experiences. This has built a collective sense of ownership and responsibility, resulting in effective behaviour change for improved stewardship.