Antibiotic use in livestock is the use of
antibiotics for any purpose in the
husbandry of
livestock, which includes not only the treatment or
prophylaxis of
infection but also the use of subtherapeutic doses in
animal feed to promote growth and improve feed efficiency in contemporary
intensive animal farming.
Antimicrobials (including antibiotics and
antifungals) and other drugs are used by
veterinarians and livestock owners to increase the growth rates of livestock, poultry, and other farmed animals. The use of some drugs is banned in some countries due to food contamination or concern about increasing
antibiotic resistance and what some consider
antibiotic misuse. Other drugs may be used only under strict limits, and some organizations and authorities seek to further restrict the use of some or all drugs in animals. Other authorities, such as the
World Organization for Animal Health, say that concerns for bacterial resistance in humans is overblown and restricting the availability of medicine is detrimental to animal health and the economical production of food.