Whilst I expect some of you have heard of RUMA, I am equally sure that many of you will not have done. RUMA has, during 2008, been celebrating the tenth anniversary of its existence and we are pleased that DairyUK has seen fit to join it. So what is it? RUMA stands for the Responsible Use of Medicines in Agriculture Alliance (RUMA) and it does what it says on the container. About ten years ago there were major national and international investigations into the use of antibiotics in animals. These studies were all charged with looking at methods to control and reduce the development of antibiotic resistance and also to ensure the more effective use of these medicines. Latent in many of the deliberations was the suggestion that it was the use of antibiotics within food animals that was a major source of the problems being encountered in people.
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