Industry leaders have welcomed the drop, which was recognised in the electronic medicine book (eMB) as having reduced a further 16 per cent on 2017 figures.
Antibiotic usage in the UK pig industry has fallen for the third consecutive year.
Industry leaders have welcomed the drop, which was recognised in the electronic medicine book (eMB) as having reduced a further 16 per cent on 2017 figures.
It represents a drop from 131 mg/PCU in 2017 to 110 mg/PCU in 2018.
Use of critically important antibiotics (CIAs) had also seen a reduction to 0.06 mg/PCU, of which Colistin represents only 0.04 mg/PCU.
AHDB senior veterinary manager Mandy Nevel said: “The latest reductions in antibiotic use in the UK pig sector reflect the great efforts of pig producers and their vets to champion responsible antibiotic use.
“As we approach the target set by the UK pig industry, it is important that producers work with their vets to ensure further reductions do not compromise animal welfare.
“Antibiotics are a vital tool that enable vets to control disease in pigs and early treatment, where appropriate, is essential to ensure welfare.”
AHDB said the success could be attributed to several factors, including Red Tractor adding antibiotic recording in eMB into their pig standards and AHDB developing a new benchmarking tool.
The eMB’s benchmarking function allows producers to benchmark themselves against other producers with similar production systems, enabling producers to understand their own patterns of use and, alongside their vets, make informed decisions around animal treatments, including antibiotic usage.
Angela Christison, AHDB’s pork strategy director, added: “This is really positive progress and demonstrates the relentless commitment from the sector to use antibiotics responsibly.”