NOAH has welcomed the UK Veterinary Antibiotic Resistance Sales Surveillance (2022) Report, published on November 1, by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD).

This shows UK antibiotic sales for food-producing animals are the lowest sales to date, reducing by 59% since 2014.Sales of Highest Priority Important Antibiotics (HP-CIAs) in food-producing animals remain at very low levels, less than 0.5% of total sales.

This reflects the power of collaboration across UK veterinary and agriculture sectors in relation to the responsible use of antibiotics, demonstrated by the work of RUMA (Responsible Use of Medicines in Agriculture Alliance).

Its Targets Task Force 2 (TTF2) progress report was also released on November 1, summarising the third year of progress against antibiotic use targets for 2021-2024. It highlights where they are already being achieved or sustained, and where challenges still remain.

It showed the targets continue to be largely exceeded, met or are on track, and explains that where use has been needed to address disease outbreak, this has been done responsibly, effectively and efficiently.

Dawn Howard, NOAH chief executive, said: “NOAH welcomes both reports and the demonstration of the UK veterinary and farming sectors’ commitment to antibiotic stewardship. We, alongside others, look forward to using the insights from these reports to further our commitment to responsible antibiotic use.

“Both reports reflect the collaborative efforts of vets, farmers, animal health companies and regulators to ensure that antibiotics remain effective to treat animal diseases and support animal health and welfare, thus helping in the fight against antimicrobial resistance.

“NOAH is pleased to support the work of the RUMA TTF through initiatives such as our Livestock Vaccination Guideline and the AMBP – Animal Medicines Best Practice programme farmer training.”

Mrs Howard continued: “The two reports come as the second Antibiotic Amnesty Campaign is launched. This calls for veterinary practices to actively encourage their clients to return any unused or out of date antibiotics for safe disposal during November.”