Antibiotics are important for our health. However, the more they are used, the less effective they become because bacteria exposed to antibiotics can develop resistance. Since antibiotic use is greater in animal production than in healthcare, the risk of resistance development is also higher in animal production. We have therefore analyzed the effects of a tax on antibiotics in the EU's animal production using an agricultural economic model (CAPRI). The results show that a tax on antibiotics:

• Marginally reduces animal production in most EU countries but increases it in the rest of the world.
• Reduces antibiotic use in the EU but increases it by roughly the same amount in other countries. This is because reduced animal production in the EU is replaced by production outside the EU.
• Does not reduce global resistance development but can finance the development of new antibiotics.