Post-Brexit rules on antibiotic use on farms water down EU laws, experts say

UK farm regulations have been criticized for being too weak and lax compared to EU laws. The new rules ban the routine use of antibiotics on farm animals, specifically for compensating for poor hygiene, inadequate animal husbandry, or poor farm management practices. Experts argue that there are loopholes in the legislation that are closed off under EU laws since 2022, which the UK would be bound by if it were still a member state. The overuse of antibiotics in farming has severe consequences for human health, with two-thirds of antibiotics globally used on farm animals.