§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the weight of antibiotics used annually in farming; what is his policy in respect of this application; and if he will make a statement. [63381]
§ Mr. RookerThe information is not kept centrally. However, industry sources indicate that a total of 756 tonnes of antibiotics, including 99 tonnes of growth promoters, were supplied to users including the farming industry and keepers of pets in the UK during 1996.
We are very concerned to ensure that human health is not compromised by the use of antibiotics in livestock production. To that end we have supported a proposal by the European Commission to suspend the use of four antibiotic growth promoters that are related to antibiotics used in human medicine.