Florham Park Vet Meds Leader Supports Ban on Routine Animal Antibiotic Use

A worldwide Florham Park supplier of veterinary medicines and vaccines is supporting a Federal effort to cut back on the use of antibiotics in animal food and water.

Zoetis Inc. said in a statement that they approved the U.S. Food and Drug Administration new guidelines - the Veterinary Feed Directive - that call for the use of antibiotics only for sick animals, not just as a routine means of preventative care.

Worldwide fears that the overuse of antibiotics in human medicine, the additional overuse in food animals, whose meat human beings ingest, is causing antibiotic-resistant germs, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

"We believe that veterinarians should be involved in decisions regarding antibiotic use in food animals for the health of the animal and for the safety of the food supply," Zoetis said in a statement.

"We support the revisions to the Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD) regulation to guide veterinarians and farmers as they manage the health and welfare of animals."

Zoetis is an industry leader in the discovery, development, and manufacture of animal health medicines and vaccines designed to meet the real-world needs of veterinarians, livestock farmers, and companion animal owners, the company said.