Swiss pig farmers face deadline over use of certain antibiotics

Pigs can no longer be treated with certain antibiotics Keystone Archive

The Federal Health Office has told Swiss pig farmers that they have until Sunday to remove certain veterinary medicines from their farms.

The edict concerns around thirty drugs which have recently been declared illegal by the Swiss government.

Up until now, the Swiss authorities controlled the use of antibiotics such as chloramphenicol, by limiting the maximum concentration of the drug.

But the Federal Health Office has now banned any use of these drugs to come in line with the European Union where they are also illegal.

It is a condition of all EU imports of Swiss meat, milk and cheese that they be free of any contact with these banned medicines.

Andrea Meisser, the president of the Swiss Veterinary society, urged the pig producers to clear out their farm dispensaries with the help of their vets to ensure that all drugs were disposed of safely.

To ensure that farms are conforming to the new law, each canton will choose a vet to monitor the farmer’s dispensaries.

Ueli Niklaus, the president of the Association of Swiss pork producers, welcomed the move and said they had nothing to hide.

swissinfo with agencies