Oregon Legislation to Curb Nontherapeutic Antibiotic Use In Livestock

Oregon Legislation to Curb Nontherapeutic Antibiotic Use In Livestock

Last week Oregon’s Senate Bill 920 was passed out of committee. This bill, if passed, would prohibit administering any medial important antibiotic to food-producing animals for non therapeutic purposes. There was a similar bill in Oregon’s House that died in Committee.
Anitbiotic resistance is a very complex issue that needs to take into account all uses of antibiotics including human, companion animals as well as livestock. This legislation only takes into account one element of the issue.
Oregon Cattlemen’s Association Executive Director Jerome Rosa explains that often when cattle are moved from location to location and there may be several head that come off the truck with a cough even though only a couple are showing symptoms all of the cattle have been exposed. He continues
Rosa: “The whole key to this legislation and this whole argument is the prevention term. Prevention is the big key word here and they don’t want us to using it for prevention. What is happening in these case there are sub-clinical levels there. And so , in those cases where those animals have been exposed prevention is the measure to prevent it from spreading it to everybody. That is the big issue here — is prevention. They don’t want people using it in a preventative way. When in fact, those animals have been exposed in those type of situations. It happens.”
He urges ranchers to call Oregon Senators and let them know that this is bad legislation that could affect the health and welfare
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