Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has emerged as a global health crisis, transcending the boundaries of human, animal, and environmental health. Within animal health, the widespread use of antimicrobials in livestock, aquaculture, and companion animals contributes significantly to the emergence and dissemination of resistant pathogens. The societal burden extends beyond animal health to food security, livelihoods, trade, and public health, necessitating a holistic framework for understanding and intervention.

Methods: This review synthesizes peer-reviewed literature published between 2022 and 2025, drawing on epidemiological data, policy frameworks, and One Health reports. Databases including PubMed, Scopus, and ScienceDirect were searched using keywords such as “antimicrobial resistance,” “animal health,” “One Health,” “societal burden,” and “sustainable livestock systems.” Selected studies were critically appraised and thematically integrated to highlight the multi-sectoral impacts of AMR.

Results: Findings reveal that AMR in animal health imposes layered burdens on society. Economically, it reduces livestock productivity and increases costs of animal production due to therapeutic failures and mortality. Public health risks include zoonotic transmission of resistant pathogens through food chains, direct contact, and environmental contamination. Socially, AMR undermines food security, threatens rural livelihoods, and exacerbates inequities, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. One Health frameworks provide integrative strategies for addressing these challenges, but significant gaps remain in surveillance, stewardship, policy enforcement, and cross-sectoral collaboration.

Conclusions: AMR in animal health is a multidimensional societal problem requiring integrative One Health approaches. Mitigation demands global cooperation, local policy adaptation, improved stewardship of antimicrobials, and investment in sustainable livestock practices. Future strategies must incorporate behavioral, economic, and ecological perspectives to effectively reduce the societal burden of AMR.