The British Poultry Council (BPC) Antibiotic Stewardship play a critical role in delivering good bird health and welfare, safeguarding the efficacy of antibiotics and help to produce food that is trusted by consumers. The recently published 2020 BPC report has shown reduced use of antibiotics in the last few years. British farms raising chickens, turkeys and ducks has fallen by 76% from 2012 through 2019 and 97.3% reduction in the use of critically important antibiotics.  In 2019, the sector used 19.7 tons of antibiotics accounting for 9.3% of the total antibiotics licensed for use in food-producing animals in the UK and this slight increase in antimicrobial use was due to disease challenges. The sector remains firm in ensuring that antibiotics are effective for future generations and continue to tackle antimicrobial resistance. The poultry sector has also stopped all preventative treatments and the highest priority antibiotics which are critically important for human health are used only as a last resort for chickens and turkeys. 

For more information visit the British Poultry Council