Back in 1994, Denmark took the first step towards reducing antibiotic consumption in pig production. Since then, the dispensing of these substances has only been possible with a prescription from a veterinarian, and farmers can only obtain the medicine from a pharmacy. All prescribed and administered quantities of antibiotics are also recorded in the national database known as VetStat. This is administered by the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration and is used for transparent monitoring of antibiotic consumption in livestock production.
Success over three decades
The system has been successful for over 30 years. According to the Danish Agriculture & Food Council, between 1994 and 2024, antibiotic consumption fell by 49 per cent.
”The reason for the success is a combination of legislation, rigorous control and widespread support from pig producers,” says Jan Dahl, Veterinarian and Chief Adviser at the Danish Agriculture & Food Council.
Other figures also testify to the successful reduction. According to VetStat, consumption throughout the whole of Danish livestock production averages 31.9 mg antibiotics per kg biomass. The EU averages 89 mg/kg. Furthermore, about 3,000 samples from pigs are tested annually for antibiotic residues – and residues are only found in a maximum of two samples per year. This is far below the level of many other countries.
Minimising antibiotic resistance
When compared internationally, Denmark also has relatively low resistance rates to certain critical types of antibiotics that are vital in human medicine. This is particularly due to the responsible and strictly regulated use of antibiotics in livestock production.
Since 2002, the Danish pig sector has, to a large extent, avoided the use of antibiotics classified by WHO as highly prioritised and critically important and thus helped to counteract the development and spread of antimicrobial resistance.
In Denmark, reserve antibiotics such as third and fourth generation cephalosporins or fluoroquinolones are also not used in livestock production, in order to prevent the development of resistance. These groups of substances are first-choice treatments in human medicine, including the treatment of serious and life-threatening infections.
Use of antibiotics (mg per kg of produced biomass) distributed across countries
Source: European sales and use of antimicrobials for veterinary medicine - Annual surveillance report for 2023
You can read more about food safety and Europe's consumption of antibiotics here: