*4.2. Behaviors and Knowledge of Farmers Regarding Veterinary Antibiotics (VAs) Use*

In terms of behaviors regarding VA use, 68.3% of the 654 pig farmers surveyed reported non-compliance with withdrawal time requirements, 55.5% overdosed VAs, and 24.3% used human antibiotics instead of VAs. Some farmers reported two or more types of improper VA use.

With regard to knowledge regarding VA use (Table 3), 78.0% and 19.3% of the respondents had no and little knowledge of VA use specification, respectively (97.3% altogether); 66.2% and 22.5% had no and little knowledge that antibiotics customized for humans cannot be used in pig farming (88.7% altogether); 48.2% and 28.9% had no and little knowledge of hazards of VA residues, respectively (77.1% altogether); and 64.7% and 22.0% had no and little knowledge of punishment for violating VA use regulations, respectively.


**Table 2.** Demographic characteristics of the surveyed farmers.

In terms of effect of government regulation, the majority of respondents (68.81%) believed that government supervision and inspection had no effect on their daily farming behaviors. Only 3.21% reported a great effect or a very great effect. Moreover, the vast majority of respondents (91.74%) were not penalized for violating VA use regulations. Only 7.34% and 0.92% were occasionally and frequently penalized for violations, respectively.


**Table 3.** Farmers' knowledge about VAs (in %).
