The event, co-organised by Animal Advocacy & Food Transition (AAFT), the Cyprus University of Technology, and the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE), and held under the auspices of the Ministry of Agriculture of Cyprus, brought together speakers in Nicosia on 30 April to address antimicrobial resistance in farmed animals.

Cyprus remains among the highest users of antimicrobials in animal farming in Europe, with correspondingly high resistance rates in pigs and poultry, despite a decade of reduction efforts. Nordic countries show that far lower antibiotic use, and lower resistance, is achievable through better welfare standards and a focus on prevention rather than treatment.

“Healthy animals don’t need medicine,” said Nancy De Briyne, Executive Director of FVE.

AAFT and its partners are calling for stronger enforcement of existing EU rules restricting routine antibiotic use, improved welfare and biosecurity standards, and a genuine One Health approach linking human, animal and environmental health, as AAFT Director Olga Kikou put it, “prevention starts with better conditions for animals.”