Antibiotic use in livestock

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 are less severe than restricting the availability of medicine is to animal health and the economical production of food.