Borealis
Knowlton, Katharine;
von Keyserlingk, M.A.G
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2023-06-02
This paper describes the views of 779 U.S. residents on questions related to therapeutic antibiotic use in dairy cattle. A mixed method online survey was conducted with quantitative (demographic, either/or) and qualitative (open-ended) questions. Respondents were offered one of three scenarios with varying degrees of information describing a farmer with a sick cow that would benefit from antibiotic therapy. The text replies to the open-ended questions were analyzed by grouping responses with similar comments, and identifying patterns or themes. Content analysis showed that the majority of participants in this study provided farmers with the social license to treat sick cows with antibiotics; however, participants were clear that this social license did not extend to antibiotic use for growth promotion or prophylactic use. These results may aid in the development of policies and practices regarding use of antibiotics on dairy farms in alignment with societal values.