© Conservation Magazine

We disagree with having cows filled with antibiotics, primarily because of the problems created by bacterial resistance to drugs given without cause. But now we’re learning that there’s even more wrong with antibiotics in cattle: their dung releases more methane. Catherine Elton reports for Conservation Magazine:

Antibiotic use and overuse in livestock has long been controversial, as it has been linked to antibiotic resistance in humans. Livestock are regularly given antibiotics to keep them healthy in overcrowded or unsanitary conditions, or even to boost their growth.

Now, a study published recently in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B has documented for the first time that antibiotics given to cows also increase the emissions of the greenhouse gas methane from cow dung.

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