RUMA CA&E unveils results of the 2024 Antibiotic Amnesty at BSAVA Congress and announces plans for the future of the campaign

20 March 2025

The Responsible use of Medicines Alliance – Companion Animal and Equine (RUMA CA&E), has today unveiled the results of the 2024 Veterinary Antibiotic Amnesty at a press conference at the BSAVA Congress in Manchester (20 March 2025) and has shared plans for the future evolution of the campaign.

The Antibiotic Amnesty, which was led and funded by RUMA CA&E with part sponsorship from Zoetis, brought the veterinary community together once again to support this important initiative and promote the concept of safe disposal of antibiotics. It also served as a way of driving wider awareness around AMR and the importance of antimicrobial stewardship (AMS), which both pet owners and the profession play a key role in managing.

This was the third One Health Antibiotic Amnesty which took place in veterinary practices across the UK during November 2024, and built on the success of the two previous campaigns.

Overall results of the 2024 Antibiotic Amnesty Campaign

The 2024 campaign was again supported by a sustained, proactive, and cohesive communications plan which was fully supported by all participating stakeholders. The sign-up rate to the campaign from new practices and veterinary organisations saw a further uplift (333 additional practices over and above those who had signed up previously) , giving a combined total of 650 practices that received campaign communications in 2024. In addition, the volume of traffic to the campaign website page increased by 35% versus 2023.

The campaign secured the return of 2,148 antibiotic tablets, 136 topical preparations, 47 injections and 82 bottles of oral liquid preparations. This can be compared to last year and the first year in the table below.

• The 2024 Veterinary Antibiotic Amnesty once again secured the return of antibiotics which otherwise could have been disposed of irresponsibly or used for treatment inappropriately.
• Whilst the overall volume of returned antibiotics was slightly reduced (by 12% overall) compared to 2023, the amount returned is still significant and has been disposed of safely.
• 2024 also saw the return of other medications – the volume of which has not formally been captured but are also important to note. While the focus of the campaign has historically been on securing the return of antibiotics, the campaign also encouraged practices to widen the discussion to remind owners that any unused veterinary medicines of any type could be returned for safe disposal. It is particularly encouraging to see the return of medicines such as parasiticides and hormones in addition to antibiotics. In the category of ‘other’, practices reported the return of medications such as NSAIDs, pain relief, steroids, heart medication, ear drops. There was also a report of human drugs including antacids and contraceptive tablets being returned.
• The survey for the campaign evaluation is a voluntary process and captures the feedback from practices who have actively chosen to respond. It is acknowledged that more practices could well have taken part in the amnesty than the survey results capture. Therefore, these results provide a high-level ‘snapshot’ of the campaign. It is likely that a greater number of practices did participate given the high number of additional practices that signed up for campaign information in 2024.
• The subject and focus on AMS has been growing in both awareness and direct action through various initiatives across the CA&E sectors in recent years. It is hoped that this increased focus is starting to positively impact on the levels of prescribing of antibiotics i.e. fewer antibiotics are being prescribed. This is further backed up in the amnesty evaluation report with comments from practices.*

The antibiotic amnesty is a flagship campaign for the RUMA CA&E Alliance and aligns to its vision and mission. RUMA CA&E Secretary General, Steve Howard, says: “The types and volume of antibiotics returned in 2024 is not dissimilar to previous years and the removal of these medications from the community and the assurance that they will be disposed of correctly, represents a successful outcome of this project.

“What is also pleasing to hear is that antimicrobial stewardship is becoming embedded into everyday language and behaviours in the practice environment, with a number of practices attributing the reduced level of returned antibiotics to the fact that less are being prescribed in the first place, plus the ongoing focus to educate owners about the safe use and disposal of animal medicines. I would like to thank the profession once again for supporting the Antibiotic Amnesty so enthusiastically.

“The campaign has also secured the return of other classes of medicines such as parasiticides, NSAIDs, pain relief, steroids, heart medication, and ear drops, to name a few. It is with that in mind and given the profession’s ongoing commitment to the responsible use and disposal of all veterinary medicines, that we intend to explore how best to widen the remit of the campaign and evolve the messaging to include other classes of medicines more overtly in 2025. We are in the process of working up the finer detail and will be sharing more information in the coming months.“

Gwyn Jones, RUMA CA&E Chair, adds: “The way the profession has once again collaborated on this important campaign is something to be very proud of. Driving awareness of AMR and affecting behaviour change, both in the practice environment and with owners, is no small undertaking. As we look ahead to 2025 and how best to evolve this campaign, we are doing so from a strong foundation by a profession that cares and is committed to driving the message of responsible use and responsible disposal to help protect the efficacy of veterinary medicines for the long-term benefit of pets and people.”

To read the full campaign evaluation, visit: Reports – RUMA CA&E (rumacae.org.uk)

The panel launching the Antibiotic Amnesty campaign evaluation at BSAVA Congress on 20 March included:

• Julian Hoad – BSAVA President
• Steve Howard – Secretary General, RUMA CA&E
• Fergus Allerton – Small Animal Medicine Clinician and Antibiotic Amnesty Veterinary Campaign Lead
• Mary Bawn – Communications Lead, RUMA CA&E, and Antibiotic Amnesty Project Manager