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New European regulations will mean that stricter records for prescribing animal medicines will be put in place by 2022.
Chair of Veterinary Ireland Conor Geraghty said: “The plan with the Department of Agriculture is that antibiotic usage will be recorded in the future, which will come in with the new regulation. It will be sector-specific.” Listen to "Changes coming in prescribing animal medicines" on Spreaker.
“My understanding is – and it still has to be agreed – is that for intensive industries like the pig industry it will be at farm level and probably at veterinary practice level for the ruminant industry, such as cattle, sheep and dairy.”
The regulations are part of the European drive against anti-microbial resistance (AMR).
“The fear is that AMR is going to kill more people than cancer by 2050, so we have a responsibility there,” Geraghty said at the calf conference.
The Department already records the level of antibiotics sold at wholesale level to vet practices.
In countries such as Denmark, farm-level antibiotic recording is already in place with an option for members of the public to view how much medicine individual farms are using.
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