8. Statement by the Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd: Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) — Progress of the Wales Five-year Animal and Environment Plan

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:47 pm on 28 February 2023.

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Photo of Lesley Griffiths Lesley Griffiths Labour 5:47, 28 February 2023

Thank you. Information about sector-specific uses is published annually in the veterinary AMR and sales surveillance report, and if you look at it, you will see that, I think, the poultry and the pig sectors are the two sectors that have the highest uses of antibiotics currently. But I don't believe it's helpful to view the issue solely from that perspective; I think it's important to take the holistic approach to the problems, which I referred to, prioritising concerns as and when they occur. But I think it's important to remember that we're not restricting the use of antibiotics; what we are trying to do is make sure that we use them when they are genuinely required. But I think, as I say, you can see that the poultry sector—that data is very available. So, it could be that that is an area that we will need to look at further if that is, indeed, the case.