Norwegian animals receive less antibiotics

Photo: Terje Bendiksby / NTB scanpix

The use of antibiotics was reduced by 30% on pets and 10% on livestock in the past three years show figures from the Ministry of Agriculture and Food.

‘’We are now seeing that the systematic efforts to reduce the consumption of antibiotics yield results’’ said Minister of Agriculture and Food, Olaug Vervik Bollestad of the Kristelig Folkeparti (KrF).

An action plan against antibiotic resistance was adopted in March 2016. The overall goal is to reduce and correct the use of antibiotics.

Furthermore, the knowledge of what drives the development and spread of resistance will be increased.

Every six months, a status is prepared for how the various measures are being implemented.

It shows that the targets set for 2020 have already been reached.

‘’Norway is among the countries in Europe that use the least antibiotics for domestic animals, and the government has set several clear goals
for further reducing the use of antibiotics.

‘’Too much use of antibiotics is one of the biggest health challenges we face today. The Norwegian agricultural industry takes its share of the responsibility, and we have a very ambitious strategy to prevent resistant bacteria from gaining a foothold in Norwegian livestock farming” said Bollestad.

There has been an emergence of bacteria that have developed resistance to antibiotics in recent years, so-called antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Every year, around 25,000 people die of such bacteria in Europe.

According to the Farmers’ Association, Norwegian animals only get antibiotics when they are ill. In other countries, antibiotics are used preventively.

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today