Source:  Dani Friedland, MEATINGPLACE.COM, 2/25/11

Faced with a new measurement of animal antibiotic use, Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) announced Wednesday she will again introduce legislation intended to reduce antibacterial use in healthy animals.

“Today I confirmed an alarming number that should shock all of us: 4 out of 5 antibiotics sold in this country were for use on animals, many of whom are not even sick,” Slaughter said in a statement. “In this Congress, I will once again introduce legislation to reduce the use of antibacterial drugs on healthy animals. I hope members of both parties will join me in this effort because protecting human health should not be a partisan issue.”

Slaughter cited figures from the FDA, indicating that 13.1 million kilograms of antibacterial drugs were sold for animal use in 2009. Only 3.3 million kilograms were sold that year for human use, Slaughter said.

There are, however, differing views. The National Pork Producers Council said in a statement that nearly 39 percent of the antibiotics sold for use in farm animals consisted of ionophores, compounds that aren’t used in human medicine.

The NPPC also pointed out that the FDA reported the amount of antibiotics sold, not the amount used. “The FDA report does not show that livestock producers overuse antibiotics, and it doesn’t show that they are being irresponsible,” Howard Hill, DVM and member of the NPPC’s board of directors, said in a statement.

The report also did not include specific data, such as how many kilograms of antibiotics were used to treat animals that were sick and improve feed efficiency and weight gain.

“Despite the fact that the FDA report lacks the data, several groups continue to peddle junk science on the percentage of antibiotics used for 'non-therapeutic’ reasons, which include prevention and control of diseases, and to make comparisons of antibiotics used in food animals with those used in humans,” Hill said.

Slaughter authored The Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act in 2009. 

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