Antibiotics Overuse Act

H.R. 2932 and S. 1460

Sponsors: Representatives Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Wayne Gilchrest (R-MD) and Senators Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME)

NM co-sponsors: Sen. Bingaman

APV position: SUPPORT

Bill Status: S. 1460 has been referred to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee

H.R. 2932 has been referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Health Subcommittee

What the law would do. The Antibiotics Overuse Act calls for an end, within two years of enactment, to the massive, routine feeding of antibiotics to chickens, pigs, cows, and other animals in agriculture.

Why it is needed: The "non-therapeutic" use of antibiotics is a practice factory farms employ to make animals grow faster and keep them in inhumane, overcrowded, stressful, and often squalid conditions. As long as the antibiotic crutch is available to agribusiness, it will continue treating animals as machines and ignoring their basic welfare needs. Moreover, this wasteful use of the drugs renders them less effective for treating sick animals and people. Overuse of antibiotics leads to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. An estimated 70% of all antibiotics used in this country are given to farm animals for non-therapeutic purposes. It’s time to stop letting agribusiness squander these precious medicines in order to keep animals confined in horrible conditions!