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Hanover (dpa / lni) - The Greens in the state parliament criticize the planned by Agriculture Minister Barbara Otte-Kinast (CDU) to relocate the control of the use of antibiotics in animal husbandry from the state to the municipal level.
This would destroy the expertise pooled at the State Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety (Laves) without guaranteeing a consistently high professional standard in the municipalities.
That is why the Greens parliamentary group is introducing a motion to the state parliament this Wednesday with the aim of stopping the relocation and strengthening the current control system.
The agricultural expert of the Greens, Miriam Staudte, described the plans of Otte-Kinast as short-sighted and irresponsible.
"We have to prevent further antibiotic resistance instead of shattering the tried and tested control system."
The fact that the use of antibiotics in animal husbandry has been reduced by more than half in recent years shows that the antibiotics monitoring set up under Red-Green works effectively in the country.
The first districts with a high density of cattle, such as Cloppenburg and Vechta, have already warned that they lacked the necessary personnel for their new tasks, said Staudte.
The Ministry of Agriculture counters this by stating that the local authorities are already responsible for monitoring veterinary medicinal products.
A stringent crackdown on identified violations is expected without involving another authority.
The local veterinary offices would be strengthened by the move.
The nationwide reporting system is to remain with Laves, as is the statistical evaluation of antibiotic minimization at the federal state level.
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From 2018 to 2019, the use of antibiotics by animal keepers in Lower Saxony fell from 429 to 386 tons; no final data are yet available for 2020.
In 2014 the delivery volume was 726 tons, and in 2011 it was just under 1014 tons.
Antibiotics are important in treating bacterial infections.
But with each administration, the risk increases that the germs will become resistant to the drug.
This complicates the treatment.
Since many antibiotics are used both in agriculture and in the treatment of humans, efforts are being made to reduce them in both areas.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210126-99-168944 / 2