VETPARTNERS believes cross-country collaboration between its practices will help to combat Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) to help reduce the emergence and spread of drug-resistant bacteria around the world.
As a result of drug resistance, antibiotics and other antimicrobial agents can become ineffective, therefore, some infections become difficult or impossible to treat.
Our Group Clinical Board is working together across all species groups to promote the responsible use of antibiotics in animals through the reduction and refinement of our use of these important drugs.
Data included in VetPartners’ newly published 2025 Antibiotics Stewardship Report shows the use of antibiotics across all species in our UK practices has more than halved since 2021.
The report has been published to coincide with World Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Awareness Week (November 18th to 24th), a global campaign to raise awareness and understanding of AMR and promote best practices.
For the first time, the VetPartners 2025 Antibiotics Stewardship Report also includes data from Italy and input from colleagues in practices and associated animal healthcare businesses across the UK, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and the Netherlands.
Data from the 2025 Antibiotics Stewardship Report reveal:
- A reduction of 33% in the use of antibiotics in 2025 across all species compared to 2024 – and a drop of 60% since 2021.
- A 25% reduction in the use of Metronidazole in UK practices since 2021, with some practices completely stopping the use of the antibiotic almost completely in favour of alternative treatments.
- A 50% decrease in the use of Ceftiofur and a 20% reduction in the use of Enrofloxacin in equines since 2021, protecting the use of the antibiotics for more critical cases.
- An increased use of NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) in farm animal practice.
VetPartners Group Director of Clinical Research and Excellence in Practice Dr Rachel Dean believes we are making good progress in our aim to reduce, refine and, where possible, replace antibiotics across the UK and Europe. The Quality Improvement (QI) approach to antibiotics stewardship in practice enables us to review our use and take responsibility for our role in the action against AMR.
‘Our practices are doing a really good job’
Dr Dean said: “As a large group across the UK and Europe, we can influence how antibiotics are used in animal health, and we are doing a really good job. We continue to significantly reduce and progress our use of antibiotics in the UK and we are now working in this area across the whole of the group.
“Antibiotics stewardship isn’t just about using fewer antibiotics, it’s about using progressive and alternative treatments, and making sure we still use antibiotics when and how they are most needed. We’ve had an overall reduction in antibiotics use in the UK and it shows our teams are trying hard to transfer and innovate what they do every day in their decisions, while maintaining great standards of care outcomes for our patients.
“This is an international issue and we are continuing to innovate what we are doing in the UK and support other teams with their antibiotic stewardship to enable them to progress clinical use of antibiotics. As an international group, we are facing the challenge of AMR together.
“From the QI work we’ve done, and continue to do, we can learn what is useful in other countries and also work out what our different needs are. We can learn so much from each other to make a real difference to veterinary healthcare.”
- For VetPartners media enquiries, please contact Amanda Little, PR and Communications Director, at [email protected] or 07970 198492