Canadian farmers are nervously watching pressure build on the federal
government to tighten restrictions and regulations controlling the use
of antibiotics on farm animals.
“Restrictions on availability of antibiotics to farmers would lead to
higher mortality rates among birds,” said Mike Dungate, general manager
of Chicken Farmers of Canada. “This would lead to farm losses and more
intense management. All these have costs.”
Rob McNabb of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association said that while the
issue is becoming more prominent and farmers are aware of the dangers
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of overuse of antibiotics, the critics may be jumping the gun.
“Our biggest concern remains that we find no evidence we are the real
culprits,” he said. “The fingers should be pointing at the human
medical community, where use of antibiotics is rampant and may be
causing much of the growing disease resistance to medicines.”
In June, a Health Canada “advisory committee on animal uses of
antimicrobials and its impact on resistance and human health” prepared
a report suggesting it is a large and growing problem. It recommended
that government try to find out how many antibiotics are used in
farming, tighten registration rules and ensure that antibiotic sales
require a veterinarian’s prescription. The committee said a particular
target for tougher rules should be antibiotics used as growth promoters
rather than medicines.
An early October national conference of human and animal health
specialists in Ottawa endorsed the report and agreed that use of
antibiotics in Canadian poultry, hogs and cattle is likely causing
growing resistance to antibiotics in humans.
Dr. John Conly of the University of Calgary, who is chair of the
Canadian committee on antibiotic resistance, said if action is not
taken, the cost of increased disease and the need for new antibiotics
will reach $1.8 billion annually.
Dr. Scott McEwan, chair of the Health Canada advisory committee and a
professor at the Ontario Veterinary College, said farmers must change
their thinking on antibiotics from worrying about residues to worrying
about inducing resistance.
He said consumers also should be willing to pay more for their food to
support farmers’ efforts.
Farm representatives are skeptical that consumers would be so generous.
“We are sensitive to the problem and our quality assurance rules deal
with reducing antibiotic use, but severe restrictions would be very
difficult for our industry,” said Martin Rice of the Canadian Pork
Council.
