An expert panel has recommended the federal government restrict the use
of antibiotics in livestock feed.
In a 188 page report given to Health Canada this summer, the Advisory
Committee on Animal Uses of Antimicrobials and Impact on Human Health
said the widespread use of these drugs may cause antibiotic resistance
in humans.
“Resistance in bacteria to antibiotics exists in human as well as
animals,” said John Clarke, an Ontario hog producer and committee
member.
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“It’s a circle. We used it in people and animals. Maybe too much. As a
result it’s in the ecosystem and now we have to deal with it.”
Scientists and industry representatives from human medicine,
agriculture and aquaculture looked at the issue for two years.
Trish Dowling, an associate professor and researcher at Western College
of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan, was a
committee member.
“Producers are going to be beat up by this report, and the regulations
that come from it will undoubtedly cost them some money,” she said.
“But in the end it will mean a better reputation for Canadian food and
it might also help to deal with the subject of (antimicrobial resistant
bacteria) in humans and in livestock.”
Antibiotics are often present in feed rations to promote growth and
prevent illness. Producers do not require a prescription from a
veterinarian.
But the panel said livestock antibiotics should only be available by a
vet’s prescription. It ranked this issue the first of six major
recommendations and dozens of minor ones that Health Canada should
implement.
Joyce Van Donkersgoed, a veterinary consultant from Lacombe, Alta.,
said this part of the report may go too far.
“I expect … a compromise will be found here,” she said.
The report suggests that the industry should “stop the direct use of
APIs (active pharmaceutical ingredients) in food animals.”
APIs include a wide variety of feed additives that are in various
companies’ proprietary mixes, which often label contents poorly and may
include antibiotics. These are available directly to livestock growers
from outside of Canada.
“We need to close the loophole that says farmers can import those
through the current ‘own use’ clause,” said Van Donkersgoed.
“The report’s recommendations will cost producers money and that is a
problem. We are already in the negative margins for cattle feeding and
hog production. Poultry is getting close as well,” she said.
Diane Kirkpatrick heads Health Canada’s veterinary drugs directorate
and is in charge of the project.
“As Canadians, we enjoy an abundance of great food,” Kirkpatrick said.
“We want to continue to enjoy it and to that end we aren’t going to be
jumping to implement a bunch of conditions that will put producers out
of business.
“We intend to find ways and means to introduce the new recommendations
creatively that will keep costs down and make alternatives available
for the primary producer …. Our first mandate, though, is to protect
human health,” she said.
Clarke agrees.
“I’m a farmer. I know some of these recommendations’ costs will be
passed on to me, but they will be minimal and in general they will only
improve herd health.
“But first I’m a person with kids and grandkids and I want them to be
able to be treated for an infection as easily and safely as I was. This
report will help make that possible,” said Clarke.
Kirkpatrick said Health Canada will begin implementing some of the
recommendations immediately, while others will be done over time “with
consultation with producers and other stakeholders.”
Other recommendations in the
report:
- Create a national surveillance system for antimicrobial use in
livestock.
- Create new extra-label veterinary drug use policies that do not
endanger human health.
- Give preference to livestock drugs that have a narrow spectrum of
effect and to older types of antimicrobials that are less used.
- Evaluate antimicrobials for growth promotion and feed efficiency to
ensure these do not conflict with human drugs or cause human resistance.
