Antibiotic stewardship and its implications for agricultural animal-human relationships: Insights from an intensive dairy farm in England

Summary

This qualitative case study examines how antibiotic stewardship policies—increasingly prominent in UK and EU agricultural regulation—reshape practices of animal care and animal-human relationships in intensive dairy systems. Through fieldwork on one English dairy farm, the authors identify three distinct biosocial collectivities (calves, milking cows, dry cows), each managing different life challenges through specific care practices and antibiotic-use patterns. The study reveals that whilst antibiotic stewardship can intensify human management and control of animals, its effects on welfare outcomes are uneven and variable, raising important questions about whether reduced antibiotic use alone will drive systemic change towards more sustainable, high-welfare production.

Regional applicability

This study is directly situated in United Kingdom practice and policy context, examining an English intensive dairy farm during a period of heightened UK and EU policy focus on antimicrobial resistance. The findings are immediately applicable to UK dairy farming and regulatory frameworks, though the paper questions the assumption that antibiotic reduction alone will transform intensive systems towards higher welfare, a debate central to UK agricultural policy and farm business sustainability.

Key measures

Empirical characterisation of on-farm biosocial collectivities; documented practices of care associated with antibiotic use; stakeholder perspectives on anticipated implications for animal-human relationships

Outcomes reported

The study examined how antibiotic stewardship policies reshape animal-human relationships and care practices within intensive dairy systems, identifying three distinct biosocial collectivities (calf, milking cow, dry cow) with differing responses to reduced antibiotic use. The research revealed uneven effects on animal welfare and an intensification of human control over animals with variable health and welfare implications.

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