ANIPLAN

Analysing the effect of minimising the use of medicine through animal health promotion (WP5)

Minimising antibiotic/medicine use through health promotion means that we do not focus only on diseases, but on promoting the health and welfare of animals, e.g. through hygiene, outdoor access etc. Alternative disease treatment could be relevant in some cases, but should not be the main focus. Animal health planning (setting goals and working towards them) is very relevant in this context, and since it often demands farm specific and innovative solutions, it makes it relevant to work in farmer groups and / or use advisory services.

This work package focuses on a number of case study herds working towards a high level of animal health and welfare and minimisation of medicine use.

Strategies in the case study herds can be described using, among other things, existing knowledge and data on medicine use. Previous experiences from the Swiss ‘ProQ’, the Danish ‘Phasing out antibiotics’ and the Dutch ‘Antibiotic free dairy farming’ projects will be explored using qualitative research interviews. 

Epidemiological analyses based on data, observations and recordings in the herds will be studied. The use of animal based parameters can be included in these analyses.

In this work package, projects involving a number of existing farms are supported through national funds, and we try to involve as many as possible.