Tackling Antimicrobial Resistance through improved livestock Health and Welfare

HealthyLivestock aims to reduce antimicrobial (AM) use by the pig and broiler industries in China and Europe, and consequent residues in meat and the environment, by improving animal health & welfare without compromising productivity. Phase 1, combining efforts from 5 Chinese and 8 EU academic partners, will include novel scientific approaches in 4 interlinked strategies to reduce AM need. 1) Biosecurity: reducing risk of pathogen presence within a farm through zoning-based Health & Welfare plans, including animal based indicators of success. 2) Resilience: increasing ability of animals to cope with endemic diseases, through novel stress-reducing housing systems and probiotic improvement of gut health. 3) Rapid detection: applying precision farming techniques to facilitate early detection, diagnosis and intervention of health & welfare problems. 4) Precision medication: using pharmacokinetics to target AM to only individuals or groups in need. Phase 2 will validate the technical innovations by establishing their societal acceptability and economic viability. It will also assess the relationships between the Health & Welfare plans, the level of pathogens on the farm and AM residues in product and manure. In phase 3 the project’s industrial partners dedicate their network and expertise to knowledge exchange. The Federation of Veterinarians of Europe will lead dissemination of the scientific findings through Technical Notes. China’s only animal welfare standard setting organisation ICCAW, and Europe’s leading organisation GLOBALG.A.P., will strengthen their Quality Assurance schemes. Zoetis, the world’s largest veterinary pharmaceutical company, will develop and disseminate their pig and poultry advisory apps for global use. Finally, HealthyLivestock will support Chinese and EU policy making through CAAS and its links with International Veterinary Collaboration for China, and through the forthcoming EU Animal Welfare Platform and Network of Welfare Reference Centres.