Recommendation 46

For the clinical surveillance of animal health, VMD is very reliant on private testing of animals. Some infections of some species are reportable by law but VMD’s access to other data can be difficult.116 VMD told us that its routine surveillance of animals covered only pigs and poultry, which was a risk-based decision that had been taken across Europe at the time. VMD said that it needs as much data as it can get across all species. It aims to increase surveillance across many species, including companion animals, equines and ruminants. Having more data would help it to understand the prevalence of AMR and achieve increased targets for reducing the use of antibiotics in the future.117 116 C&AG’s Report, para 3.22 117 Q 54 23