Sales of antibiotics for use on farm animals fell by 51% in the first half of 2012, making it likely the Netherlands will reach its 50% reduction goal a year early, farm minister Co Verdaas said on Tuesday.

The government has pledged to slash the use of antibiotics by half in 2013, compared with 2009. Dutch antibiotic use in factory farming is among the highest in Europe.
The Netherlands has 291 pigs and 77 cows per square kilometre, the highest density of farm animals in any of the 27 EU countries, news agency Bloomberg reported.