About RUMA
About Us
The Responsible use of Medicines in Agriculture (RUMA) Alliance was established in 1997 to promote the highest standards of food safety, animal health and animal welfare in the British livestock industry. It is an independent non-profit group with a unique cross-sector role comprising representatives from organisations covering all stages of the food chain from ‘farm to fork’. RUMA brings together organisations from right across the livestock supply chain and seeks to promote a co-ordinated and integrated approach to best practice in the use of medicines. RUMA champions the responsible use of animal medicines in UK livestock by producing specific ‘guidelines on responsible use’ and has a current focus on AMR which is co-ordinated through a range of collaborative activities that contribute to the UK 5 Year AMR Strategy, most notably driven through the RUMA Targets Task Force (TTF).
- RUMA is a not for profit organisation
- It is a cross sectoral Alliance of 26 organisations representing supply chains from farm to fork
- Provides leadership to the UK livestock industry encouraging innovative and proactive efforts to improve the responsible use of veterinary medicines while ensuring optimum animal health and welfare.
- Uses evidence-based information to promote the industry’s responsible use of medicines
- The organisation has an ongoing focus on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) as well as supporting the message of responsible use beyond AMR, and is committed to supporting a One Health strategy to address the risk
AMR is one of the biggest challenges facing society and the medical and agricultural sectors globally. A core part of the RUMA’s role is to ensure that the UK is appreciated and recognised as a major food producing country that adopts responsible use of animal medicines to deliver world leading farm animal health and associated welfare.
Why was RUMA established?
The Responsible Use of Medicines in Agriculture (RUMA) Alliance was established to promote the highest standards of food safety, animal health and animal welfare in the British livestock industry.
It has a current focus to deliver on the Government objective of identifying sector-specific targets for the reduction, refinement or replacement of antibiotics in animal agriculture.
The creation and roll out of sector specific targets in 2017 through the RUMA Targets Task Force, has helped focus activity across the UK livestock sectors to achieve a 52% reduction in antibiotic use since 2014. This has been realised principally through voluntary multi-sector collaboration, cross sector initiatives, codes of practice, industry body support and farm assurance schemes. The Target Task Force Report provides an overview of RUMA’s work to date providing insight into the methods used to create the targets, why they are so important, the impact they are having and how ongoing support and robust data are vital components in achieving the latest set of targets.
RUMA’s Vision and Responsibilities
RUMA Vision
For the UK to be appreciated as a leader in the responsible use of medicines in agriculture in order to deliver the highest standards of farm animal health, associated welfare and food safety, and contributing to the protection of public health and the environment
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