An industry-led assessment of how the UK’s pig and poultry sectors are dealing with antibiotics and what monitoring and measuring steps may be needed in the future, will dominate a York-based pig and poultry conference later this month.
The conference theme of ‘antibiotics – living with them, living without them’ will be addressed by a panel of speakers that includes AHHWBE’s Michael Seals; AHDB’s Martin Smith; Octagon Services’ David Burch; NFU’s Gary Ford and Dutch industry specialist Nico Brons.
“A key responsibility for our industries is to say and know where we are now in terms of antimicrobial use and agree how we need to monitor and measure going forward,” said a spokesperson for organisers the Garth Pig Practice, Minster Poultry Vets and Poultry Health Services. “This is important if we as producers, vets and suppliers are to justify continued use.
“We will also discuss how our European counterparts have coped without antibiotics as some countries are already in restricted use/ban situations and we will look how they have managed.
“Finally, we will look at what the alternatives to antibiotics are and, if we are to manage our production without them, which management and product decisions we will need to address.”
The event is free of charge and will take place at Sandburn Hall, Scotchman Lane, Flaxton, York YO60 7RG, on November 26. Confirmation of planned attendance is required via email to: rachel[at]garthvet.co.uk