What aboutā¦global trends in ABF production?
What about gut? Reach out for our new dossier and get the latest informations about challenges and solutions in monogastric animalsā¦.
What about gut?
In our latest dossier, experts from science and practice present the latest insights on intestinal health in monogastric animals. Discover more in Dr. Leon Broomās article (Chief Scientific officer, Gut health consultancy) about the global trends in ABF production in poultry and swine.
Whether āantibiotic-freeā, āno antibiotics everā or āraised without antibioticsā ā the efforts of legislators and manufacturers to reduce the use of antibiotics in animal husbandry are becoming increasingly visible to us consumers. No wonder, after all, there are clear concerns about the use of antibiotics in animal production ā especially in view of the increasing risk of antimicrobial resistance.
Current estimates suggest that about half of US broiler production is raised without antibiotics, and this figure is expected to continue rising.
Whereas until 2006 it was common practice to use antibiotics in subtherapeutic doses in livestock farming to realize the maximum genetic potential, this practice is now banned in the EU. Similar legislation has also been introduced in other countries, including the USA (Food and Drug Administration, 2015). Whilst there remains some debate about the mode of action of AGP (Broom, 2017), limiting their use is associated with increased intestinal challenges, suboptimal performance and greater costs (Gaucher et al., 2015).
āāABF production is particularly associated with increased incidences and/or severity of intestinal disorders. In poultry, coccidiosis (caused by a species of the Eimeria parasite) and necrotic enteritis (NE) (caused by pathogenic strains of Clostridium perfringens) have become more prominent diseases in ABF productionāā
According to Smith (2018),
NE was not considered a significant disease for poultry prior to the AGP ban in the EU in 2006, but now ranks amongst most important diseases globally.
But what measures can help farmers to overcome these challenges?
Anne Oberdorf
Anne has always been fascinated by the unknown, the diversity and beauty of nature. Her love for nature brought her to Delacon in 2018 after studying agricultural sciences, where she worked as Technical Communications Manager and later as Product Manager Aquaculture. Since February 2021, she has been taking a new, natural career path outside of Delacon.
