UK not doing enough to curb antibiotic use on farms, say campaigners

Loopholes in proposed post-Brexit laws could allow preventive use to continue, raising risk of resistance, says coalition of groups

Proposed laws to curb antibiotic use on UK farms contain loopholes that could undermine the fight against deadly drug-resistant bacteria, campaigners say, adding that they were drafted after closed-door meetings with industry.

The government published the draft legislation, designed to replace EU rules post-Brexit, after consultations with pharmaceutical, veterinary medicine and farming lobby groups, according to freedom of information requests filed by the investigative journalism site DeSmog.