<p>Although antibiotic resistance is a natural survival strategy for bacteria, the widespread use of antibiotics across various sectors has accelerated the dissemination of resistance genes, posing a serious threat to public health. This review critically examines distribution data and fate in the environment of <i>bac</i>A, a gene associated with resistance to bacitracin, a widely administered antibiotic in veterinary and agricultural practices. The <i>bac</i>A gene supports bacterial survival by counteracting bacitracin’s inhibition of cell-wall synthesis, establishing it as a significant factor in resistance. This study investigates the prevalence of <i>bac</i>A in the bacterial communities of different ecosystems, with a focus on aquatic systems, questioning whether elevated detection rates represent actual gene abundance or methodological biases. We observe that shotgun metagenomics frequently indicates high <i>bac</i>A frequencies relative to other analytical measurements, suggesting the potential for over-detection. Moreover, both environmental and anthropogenic factors influence detection precision, underscoring the necessity for methodological refinement. This review highlights the need for accurate <i>bac</i>A assessment to support effective antibiotic resistance management strategies and advocates for an integrated approach that leverages both targeted and untargeted molecular analyses to achieve reliability into the distribution of resistance genes in environmental contexts.</p>