Use of antibiotics in livestock

The German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) assesses the quantities of antibiotics consumed in cattle, pigs, chickens and turkeys as well as the frequency of treatment for certain types of use such as purchased calves, dairy cows, fattening piglets and pigs, broiler chickens, laying hens and pullets as well as fattening turkeys.

The legal basis is the Veterinary Medicinal Products Act (TAMG) of 1 January 2023. The law stipulates that the use of antibiotics on farms that keep cattle, pigs, chickens or turkeys must be documented and communicated to the competent state authorities. This data is transmitted to the BfR in pseudonymised form. Until 2022, the obligation to report the use of antibiotics only applied to the fattening livestock sector.

The annual evaluation of data on the use of antibiotics and the risk assessment on the development of resistance in bacteria is the basis for the competent authorities to take measures to protect consumers.