Post-Brexit rules on antibiotic use on farms water down EU laws, experts say

One concern is that it will still be possible to give antibiotics prophylactically to large groups of animals. Photograph: David Tadevosian/Alamy

New rules intended to reduce the use of antibiotics in farming in the UK have been criticised as too lax and weaker than their equivalent under EU laws.

The updated regulations come into force on Friday. They ban the routine use of antibiotics on farm animals, and specifically their use to “compensate for poor hygiene, inadequate animal husbandry, or poor farm management practices”.