The British Poultry Council has released its 2024 Antibiotic Stewardship Report, highlighting the role the BPC Antibiotic Stewardship has played as part of the global effort in the fight against Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR).

Ongoing collaboration and engaging communication across the British poultry meat sector is key to stewardship success. Sharing of data in the sector putting food on every table has helped achieve:

• 81% reduction in the total use of antibiotics since 2012.
• 98.7% reduction in use of Medically Important Antibiotics since 2012.
• Zero use of preventative antibiotics. Using antibiotics as growth promoters is illegal. No chicken is “pumped with growth hormones,” despite unsubstantiated and misleading claims made earlier this week in the news.

The safe use of antibiotics has been prioritised by the poultry meat industry since 2011. We were the first sector to voluntarily develop a strategy for the responsible use of antibiotics.

As a result, we are able to see our role in the bigger picture in the fight against AMR and are committed to maintaining open communication and an honest dialogue on our antibiotic use at a pre-competitive level.

‘Poultry’s role in the bigger picture’ includes facilitating the sharing of best practice and endorsing the International Poultry Council’s Antimicrobial Stewardship Principles (read more here), promoting transparency as well as responsible use.

BPC Chief Executive, Richard Griffiths, said: “A billion birds a year are reared for food in this country and our farmers have a duty of care to every single one. That includes working with professional veterinarians to safeguard bird health and wellbeing by ensuring the sustainability of our antibiotics

We remain under Government approved RUMA species-specific sector targets and continue to challenge antibiotic use levels, while treating birds under strict veterinary direction if required.

Preserving the effectiveness of antibiotics is critical to the long-term sustainability of both the British and the global poultry meat industry.

Setting out the efforts of the BPC Antibiotic Stewardship in a global context, we celebrate that we share the same values as colleagues around the world when it comes to the importance of understanding, managing, and communicating the use of antimicrobials in poultry meat production.”

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