Danish minister calls for less antibiotics use in livestock production

Danish environment and food minister Esben Lunde Larsen on Wednesday called on European Union(EU) to take action against excessive antibiotics consumption in livestock production, particularly in South European countries.

"The EU must tackle increasing antibiotics consumption, particularly in South European countries," Larsen said in a statement following a report from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) indicating that antibiotics consumption in Italy and Spain had risen by around 20 to 25 percent from 2013 to 2014.

The minister said the excessive antibiotics consumption was "a step in the wrong direction."

According to the EMA report, Danish antibiotics consumption in 2014 was at 44.2 mg/PCU (production correction unit), while consumption in Spain was at 418 mg/PCU and Italy at 359.9 mg/PCU.

Since 2009, consumption of antibiotics in Danish pig sheds has fallen by more than one fifth, thanks to a yellow card scheme for pig antibiotics consumption introduced by the Danish government in 2009.

The scheme means that farmers who overuse antibiotics will receive a warning and be ordered to reduce their antibiotics consumption.

Moreover, Denmark has recently decided to introduce a differentiated yellow card scheme focusing on critical and broad spectrum antibiotics in particular.

Larsen expects the consumption of antibiotics in Denmark to continue falling over the next few years and hopes that the Danish model can be adopted by other EU countries.

"Denmark has successfully reduced its antibiotics consumption, and therefore we have a clear goal to disseminate this Danish experience to other EU member states," the minister said.

"However, we can not fight resistant bacteria on our own. Concerted European efforts are required," he added. Endit