Indian poultry giant selling antibiotics for growth promotion on farms

Venky’s, a major Indian poultry producer, is marketing antibiotics to farmers to promote growth and prevent drug-resistant infections. The company is selling products containing vital human health drugs for growth promotion and preventative use, which involves treating healthy birds as young as a day old to reduce disease risk. Venky’s has been found to be using these drugs as recommended by its website. The use of antibiotics for growth promotion is banned in the EU and the US, and preventative use is banned in the EU except in exceptional cases. Venky’s was previously known to only use antibiotics for therapeutic purposes.