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antibiotics
Because of restrictions on the use of antibiotics, livestock farmers
are increasingly resorting to herbal remedies, bacterial drinks and
other natural products to make and keep their animals healthy.
Although there might not always be hard medical evidence,
farmers sometimes get spectacular results from natural remedies.
TEXT HANS WOLKERS INFOGRAPHIC REMY JON-MING ILLUSTRATION IEN VAN LAANEN
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T
he news was all over the Dutch tackle the problem of the increasing increasingly using natural therapies,
papers in April when British scientists resistance of bacteria to antibiotics. especially now that government policy is
at the University of Nottingham used Maria Groot, a vet and researcher at RIKILT focused on a dramatic reduction in the use
instructions found in a ninth century Wageningen UR, is not surprised by the of antibiotics in order to stop bacteria from
medical textbook to brew a natural remedy British microbiologists results. There are becoming ever more resistant to those
that kills bacteria. The mixture of leek, numerous examples in the literature of antibiotics.
garlic, wine and ox gall was intended to herbal remedies having an effect on bacterial But knowledge of herbal medicine is still
cure inflammations of the eyelid but it had or viral infections, she says. More and more limited and Groot says that much traditional
an unexpected effect: it even killed MRSA people are becoming interested in them; knowledge has been lost. Even so, the
bacteria, which are resistant to antibiotics. herbal medicine is no longer seen as old shelves of specialized garden centres such as
The researchers now think such methods wives tales. Although there are no statis- Welkoop and Boerenbond are full of animal
from over a thousand years ago can help tics, she reckons that farmers and vets are health products based on natural ingre- >
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dients. Some products are even registered
as animal medicines, such as udder ointment
More and more people
with eucalyptus oil for inflammation of the
udder, or Colosan, a mixture based on the
are becoming interested
oils of linseed, cinnamon, aniseed, fennel
and caraway seeds that livestock farmers
in herbal medicine
use to treat gastro-enteritis in cattle.
According to Groot, both experience in the
field and clinical studies show that natural
products can make a significant contribution
to keeping animals healthy. For example,
she says garlic has an effect on worms in enthusiastically. It costs about one euro natural products such as bacterial drinks
the intestines of chickens while urinary tract in natural products per pig but that gets and herbal remedies can also keep livestock
infections in pigs can often be dealt with us increased yields worth nearly six euros healthy and robust. Livestock farmers can
using bearberries, cranberries and stinging per pig. use them during times of stress for the
nettles. A mixture of garlic and oregano animals, for example, such as a change in
prevents diarrhoea in calves. Research has SAVING LIVES feed or a move to a different location.
shown that this mixture has an antibacterial, Even so, cutting antibiotics completely out Although Kleijer knows of plenty of
antiviral and antifungal effect. of livestock farming is not an option, thinks examples from actual practice where natural
Gerdien Kleijer, a vet and project manager remedies have helped keep animals healthy
SNIFFLING PIGS at Projecten LTO Noord. Antibiotics remain or recover more quickly, there is often
Pig farmer Harry Bloemenkamps farm necessary for urgent situations; they save insufficient scientific research or evidence.
in Lettele is a textbook example of natural lives, says Kleijer. However the unthinking That is because a natural product cannot be
products being used as a replacement for application of antibiotics of recent years was patented unless it is based on a genetically
antibiotics. For a number of years there not a good thing, she argues. They were modified crop. What is more, studies that
were problems in the transition from piglet used so that animals could be kept packed meet the strict clinical research conditions
to adult pig, despite the use of antibiotics. together in greater numbers and in less that allow a product to be registered as an
They didnt grow that well and we had a lot hygienic conditions. They were even a animal medicine are extremely expensive.
of losses due to lung problems, says standard ingredient in feed until 2006. Scientific proof is particularly difficult to
Bloemenkamp. On the recommendation of Then the national government banned the obtain for herbal remedies as they are a
his vet, he started using Bio-Even, a product preventive use of antibiotics and research complex mixture of various compounds.
containing formic acid, citric acid and herbal programmes were set up to enable further
extracts of camomile, plantain, thyme and reductions. Since then, livestock farmers
sundew. If pigs start sniffling, I spray this have been looking for ways of keeping
product in the barn, says Bloemenkamp. their animals healthy and robust. Livestock
It reduces infection levels and encourages farmers who adjust their barn systems and
the secretion of mucus. management methods by improving hygiene
He also added a herbal mixture that in the barn and keeping fewer animals per
included oregano to the feed. The results square metre turn out to be able to manage
were astonishing. The use of antibiotics with less antibiotics or even none at all.
fell from an average of 12 grams per animal If you work on the basis of what each animal
per day to virtually nothing. What is more, needs and adjust the way you manage things
losses due to disease halved, from 3 per cent accordingly rather than just focusing on
to 1.4 per cent. The pigs also grew about production levels, you can reduce the use
15 per cent faster. We are now achieving of antibiotics to a minimum, says Kleijer.
excellent results, says Bloemenkamp According to her, the preventive use of
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THE USE OF ANTIBIOTICS IN LIVESTOCK FARMING AND THE RESISTANCE PROBLEM
By cutting down on antibiotics in livestock farming it is hoped that the development of
antibiotic-resistant bacteria can be stopped. Such bacteria are often dangerous for
humans as well as livestock.
Resistant bacteria
100
To curtail the growth of 2000 2013
2000 2005 2010 2013 antibiotic-resistant bacteria
even more, the use of
The sale of antibiotics for livestock rose to almost antibiotics in livestock
600 tonnes in the Netherlands in 2007. Since then the farming needs to be reduced
use of antibiotics in the country has fallen as a result of further still. Changes to
government policy. In 2013, 209 tonnes of antibiotics how farms are run and the
were sold. By the end of 2015 the use should have been application of herbs and
cut further, to 70% of 2009 levels. probiotics can help here.
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research. It turned out that garlic in feed ment Presan, for piglets and broiler
also inhibited the bacterium Actinobacillus chicks, that improves the diversity of
pleuropneumoniae (APP), which causes the bacteria in the intestines.
infections in the lungs and pleura of pigs.
The animals became sick less often, suffered REGISTERING PRODUCTS
less damage in the lungs and there was a Groot and Kleijer expect that herbal
decrease in the number of pathogens in the remedies and other natural products will
animals. Even so, a good result like that play an increasingly important role in
does not mean you are finished: the quantity modern livestock farming now that there
of garlic needed to achieve that effect in the has been a big fall in the use of antibiotics.
animals was far more than is usually used in Hard scientific evidence is not always
clinical studies. Animals are also not fond available but practical experiments show MARIA GROOT,
of garlic, which can make it difficult to that many apparently esoteric mixtures of vet and researcher at RIKILT
administer the remedy. natural ingredients lead to improvements Wageningen UR
on the farm. Animals become ill less often
LEARNING FROM INDIA and production increases. As the surprising Herbal medicine is not so
The European Commission and Oxfam result with the Anglo-Saxon herbal formula- often seen as old wives
Novib and some provinces such as tion that killed bacteria showed, humans tales
Overijssel and Friesland are subsidizing and animals could benefit from more know-
exchange programmes between various ledge about the natural approach to treating
countries in an effort to promote knowledge sickness, or preferably avoiding sickness
about the use of natural remedies and reduce through the prophylactic application of
the use of antibiotics. For example, Dutch herbal remedies. Groot advocates special
vets and farmers paid a visit to farmers in rules for natural products such as herbal
India in 2014 to learn about the use of formulations to prevent quackery and
natural products, especially herbal remedies. uncontrolled proliferation in the produc
Dairy farmers in India use far more herbal tion and development of such treatments:
formulations than Dutch farmers, says I would prefer to see a separate register for
Kleijer. For example, a mixture of aloe vera, this kind of natural products: if the quality
turmeric and calcium carbonate is a tried is good, it has a clinical effect and its safe,
and tested recipe for treating inflammation that should be it. W
of the udder in India.
The Dutch government would also like to
see a broader application of natural pro-
ducts in livestock farming. The Ministry of
Economic Affairs, for instance, is investiga-
ting the possibility of making farming more
sustainable with less antibiotics through
the application of natural products such as WAGENINGEN ACADEMY
herbal remedies and nutritional supple-
ments. Wageningen UR Livestock Research For new insights in healthy pig and poultry farming methods with less
and the Animal Nutrition group are collabo- use of antibiotics, Wageningen Academy offers the course in Healthy
rating with the private sector in research into production in intensive livestock farming.
the relationship between nutrition, intestinal
health and immunity. This has resulted in For more information go to www.wageningenacademy.nl
the development of the nutritional supple-
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