Vienna, 17 November 2025 – Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is on the rise, posing a serious threat to public health by rendering more and more antibiotics, antivirals and antifungals ineffective. According to the latest report from the World Health Organization (WHO), one in six laboratory-confirmed common bacterial infections in humans – such as bloodstream, gastrointestinal or urinary tract infections – is resistant to standard antibiotics. A major cause of this crisis is factory farming, where antibiotics are still widely overused. Ahead of AMR Awareness Week from 18-24 November, global animal welfare organisation FOUR PAWS is urging governments to take action by promoting responsible antimicrobial use and strengthening farm animal welfare in their national AMR strategies.

Antibiotic resistance as a symptom of a broken farming system

A recent study projects that without significant changes, global antibiotic use in animal farming will rise by approximately 30% by 2040. While responsible use is essential for treating animals, antibiotics are frequently administered to promote growth or in situations where proper animal welfare could have prevented their use. In several Asian and Latin American countries, turkeys and chickens are given antibiotics to boost their growth. In the United States, 75% of all dairy cows receive prophylactic infusions of antibiotics into the udder after each lactation to prevent mastitis.

The widespread use of antibiotics, antifungals, and antivirals in industrial farming is closely linked to poor animal welfare. Constant stress and inadequate living conditions make animals more susceptible to illness, increasing the reliance on medication. For example, in commercial pig farming, piglets are routinely treated with antibiotics to prevent post-weaning diarrhea. However, a Danish study found that improving husbandry conditions could reduce antibiotic use by over 90%.

FOUR PAWS study reveals alarming antibiotic resistance at poultry farms in Germany 

A FOUR PAWS study, examined 54 samples of meat and slaughterhouse wastewater from Germany’s biggest poultry producer PHW Group with their brand Wiesenhof, yielding alarming results. Bacteria resistant to last-resort antibiotics were detected in about 40% of the samples. All samples were tested by an independent laboratory, which found that 18.6% contained multidrug-resistant bacteria, which are resistant to three of the most critical classes of antibiotics. The study was conducted in April and May and was published in August.

About antimicrobials and AMR

Antimicrobials are medicines used to prevent and treat infections in humans, animals, and plants by killing or stopping the growth of microorganisms, like bacteria, viruses, fungi or parasites. They include antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals, and antiparasitics. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites evolve and no longer respond to medicine, making infections increasingly difficult to treat, some of which can become fatal.