The British Veterinary Association has welcomed the establishment of a refreshed task force by the Responsible Use of Medicines in Agriculture (RUMA) Alliance to start defining new antibiotic reduction goals post-2020.

The original task force was formed in 2016 to identify targets for antibiotic use in UK farm livestock, following the O’Neill Review on antimicrobial resistance. The refreshed Targets Task Force has expanded from eight to 10 livestock groups.

The task force is expected to agree and report new post-2020 antibiotic reduction targets before the end of next year.

James Russell, BVA’s junior vice president and the association’s representative on the new RUMA Targets Task Force, said: “We welcome the establishment of the refreshed RUMA task force to set post-2020 targets to further reduce, refine and replace antibiotic use in the UK’s farmed livestock.

“The original RUMA Targets Task Force and representatives of each of the eight livestock sectors have been hugely successful in reducing antibiotic usage, particularly the use of High Priority Critically Important Antibiotics (HP-CIA). We must maintain this momentum in the face of the ongoing global threat posed by antimicrobial resistance.

“Alongside target setting, a large part of the future changes will involve promoting high animal health and welfare through disease prevention strategies, such as improving uptake in vaccines.”