A change to anti-biotics for animals on the horizon

Posted on December 7, 2018
Daniel Biss
State Sen. Daniel Biss (D-Evanston) is the sponsor of a bill to restrict the use of antibiotics in animals. (Photo courtesy www.ilga.gov)

 

By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD– Before he leaves office in January, a state senator is trying to build support for tight regulations of antibiotics used in animals.

“There is widespread, significant use of antibiotics in a variety of non-medically necessary contexts in the agricultural industry that result in the breeding of an increasingly dangerous and increasingly prevalent collection of antibiotic-resistant bacteria that are enormously dangerous for public health,” said State Sen. Daniel Biss (D-Evanston).

Veterinarians say Biss and the bill’s other supporters are using scare tactics. Northwestern Illinois veterinarian Dr. Robert Ebbesmeyer, said the bill’s unnecessary and nonsensical. “Feed-grade antibiotics cannot be prescribed, okay?” he told senators. “Per pharmacy laws,for something to be prescribed, it has to be dispensed by the prescribing veterinarian.”

The veterinary community says the FDA is on it; let scientists, not lawmakers, handle it.

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