The UK government has introduced measures to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR) by increasing restrictions on the use of antibiotics and antibiotics administered via feed.
The government has introduced the measures as part of legislation to reform the Veterinary Medicines Regulations of 2013.
The reforms aim to ensure that the UK remains “an attractive place to develop and market veterinary medicines”, the government said.
Other regulations seek to reduce regulatory burden by facilitating the submission of one marketing authorisation application dossier and enabling common packaging to be used across the UK.
The Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2013 set out the controls on the marketing, manufacture, distribution, possession, and administration of veterinary medicines and medicated feed.
The legislation will implement the plans set out in the recently published government response to last year’s public consultation on reviewing the regulations.
Chief executive of the Veterinary Medicine Directorate (VMR), Abi Seager, said: “I am delighted that this much-anticipated legislation has been brought to Parliament.
“I would like to thank Lord Douglas-Miller for his input, and our stakeholders for helping to shape our thinking, both in responses to our consultation and through other contributions.
“We eagerly await parliamentarians discussing our proposals, and we hope they support these much-needed changes.”
The new regulations build upon wider work on antimicrobial resistance outlined in the UK’s 20-year vision to contain and control antimicrobial resistance by 2040, delivered through the five-year National Action Plan for AMR.
The recent UK-Veterinary Antimicrobial Resistance and Sales Surveillance (VARSS) Report showed that sales of antibiotics for use in food-producing animals fell by nearly 10% in the last year and have fallen by 59% since 2014.
