Reported Salmonella isolations from horses in Great Britain rose to 71 in 2025 from 53 in 2024, an increase of 34.0%, according to the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s (APHA) annual report on Salmonella in animals and feed, added to GOV.UK on 2 October 2026. Isolations from dogs fell 13.7% to 416, and reports from raw meat pet food fell to 234 from 290.

The report collates statutory reports of Salmonella in livestock, dogs and animal feed in England, Wales and Scotland. Horses were added to the species covered by statutory reporting under the Zoonoses Order 1989. Reporting in dogs became statutory in England on 22 February 2021 and in Scotland and Wales on 21 April 2021. It is an official surveillance publication, not a peer-reviewed study. APHA warns that a rise or fall in isolations does not necessarily indicate a similar change in prevalence, because the total number of samples examined is often not known. Diagnostic submissions to APHA and Scotland’s Rural College fell 6.2% to 8,819, from 9,062 in 2024, while isolations from livestock and dogs combined rose 8.1% to 4,025.

Horses

The 2025 horse total is also 29.1% above the 55 isolations recorded in 2023. S. Typhimurium was the most common serovar, with 30 isolations or 42.3% of the total, up from 24 in 2024 and 20 in 2023. S. Enteritidis was second with 12, against 8 in 2024 and one in 2023. Monophasic S. Typhimurium accounted for three, against one in each of the two previous years.

Across all species, resistance to cefotaxime and ceftazidime was stable at 0.2% of isolates, or 12 isolates, “with 4 Salmonella isolates from both horses and turkeys”, in the report’s words. APHA treats resistance to these third-generation cephalosporins as of high importance because they are used to treat more serious cases of human salmonellosis. Of the 4,929 isolates examined in 2025, 76.0% were susceptible to all 16 antimicrobials tested.

Dogs and pet food

Almost all dog isolations, 99.3%, came from reports of clinical disease. S. Typhimurium led with 61 isolations (14.7%), followed by monophasic S. Typhimurium with 32 (7.7%) and S. Dublin and S. Infantis with 29 each (7.0%). APHA notes that S. Typhimurium, including monophasic strains, and S. Infantis were among the five serovars most reported in people in 2025.

Raw meat pet food produced 234 Salmonella reports in 2025, against 290 in 2024 and 331 in 2023. The most common serovars were S. Indiana (26), S. Typhimurium (25) and S. London (16). Isolations of regulated serovars, which APHA describes as key serovars of public health importance, fell 34.7% to 62 from 95 in 2024 and were 37.4% below the 99 recorded in 2023. APHA counts 137 isolations of regulated serovars across all animal feeding stuffs and related products, so raw meat pet food accounted for 62 of them.

Across all feeding stuffs there were 798 isolations, against 795 in 2024, including 60 from compound feeds. The share of domestic processed animal protein samples testing positive rose to 3.4% from 1.7%, and no imported batches were tested. APHA notes that private laboratories also report Salmonella isolations, but the total number of submissions to them is unknown.

Equanine’s reading

  • The horse count is small, but it is above both previous years in the report’s comparison, and horses are one of two species APHA names among the 12 isolates resistant to cefotaxime and ceftazidime. Equine practices, yards and insurers have reason to watch the next edition, although without sample totals the data cannot show whether infection is more common.
  • Dog isolations fell, but nearly all came from clinical cases and the leading serovars include two that rank among the five most reported in people. That keeps dogs in the zoonosis picture for veterinary groups and medicine suppliers.
  • Raw meat pet food reports and regulated serovars both fell, yet the category still accounts for close to half of the regulated serovar isolations in feed and related products. Makers should expect scrutiny to continue.