According to a recent data released by federal regulators, the sale of medically important antibiotics that have been given approval for use in livestock increased by 23% between 2009 and 2014 in United States.

Federal regulators said the data is alarming and has raised concerns among officials about the harm to humans from antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The data showed that in the last year alone, the domestic sale and distribution of such drugs increased by 3%.

Public health advocates along with some lawmakers and scientists have since long criticized the long-standing practice of using antibiotics in livestock. They have argued that that it is fueling the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

On the other hand, agribusinesses defend the practice and say that it is very necessary to keep cattle, pigs and chickens healthy and to increase production of meat for increasing US consumers.

Avinash Kar, senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, said, “Dangerous overuse of antibiotics by the agricultural industry has been on the rise at an alarming rate in recent years, putting the effectiveness of our life-saving drugs in jeopardy for people when they get sick”.

The report from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) did not disclose which antibiotics were used on various animals, why and in what volume.

S. Rep. Louise Slaughter, a Democrat of New York, said in a statement that the increase in sale of antibiotics approved for use in livestock in 2014 are shameful as it has come after the FDA issued voluntary guidance asking to reduce the use of antibiotics in agriculture.