Stewardship according to context: Justifications for coercive antimicrobial stewardship policies in agriculture and their limitations

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global health threat, and effective measures are crucial but raise ethical questions. National Action Plans on AMR need to be ethically acceptable and preferable to alternatives. Ethical analysis of case studies of coercive actions can inform policy in a context-specific manner. This article examines a Canadian coercive antimicrobial stewardship policy, focusing on restrictions on antibiotic access without a vet’s prescription. The harm principle and duty of collective easy rescue are considered as ethical arguments, but factors like causation challenges and scale of harm to be averted may limit their application. The Canadian context demonstrates how context-specific factors can impact the ethical justification of coercive policies.