The total sales of therapeutic antimicrobials for use in food animals have remained broadly steady over the last five years, according to a UK Government report.

Welcoming the publication of these figures, Ben Bradshaw, the Parliamentary Under Secretary (Commons) at Defra said "I am pleased to publish this report which underlines the Government's commitment to full transparency on this issue, and to promoting the responsible use of antimicrobials in animals. The UK is one of only a few countries worldwide that publishes such data."

The main findings in the report are that:

* sales of therapeutic antibiotics decreased slightly from 459 tonnes in 2001 to 457 tonnes in 2002;
* sales of therapeutic antiprotozoals fell in 2002 to 27 tonnes, continuing the general annual decrease in sales;
* sales of therapeutic antifungals in 2002 remained at similar levels to previous years;
* there were 27 tonnes of antimicrobial growth promoters sold in 2002, compared with 43 tonnes in 2001;
* 250 tonnes of coccidiostats were sold in 2002, a slight increase from the 242 tonnes sold in 2001.