Animal Health
Veterinary Services
Main Aim
To provide veterinary services to clients in order to ensure healthy animals and the welfare of people of South Africa.
Strategic Goal
To promote animal health and the quality of animal products through appropriate regulatory and empowerment mechanisms.
Strategic Objectives
- Combating and controlling animal diseases and parasites.
- Promoting proper standards of hygiene in the slaughtering of animals in order to obtain meat products for human consumption.
- Rendering diagnostic laboratory services with regard to animal diseases.
Crucial Programs
Animal Health
To facilitate and provide Animal Disease Control Services in order to protect the animal population against highly infectious and economic diseases, through the implementation of the Animal Disease Act (Act 35 of 1984) or Animal Health Act (Act 7 of 2002) and Primary Animal health programme/projects.
Export Control
- To provide control measures including Health Certification, in order to facilitate the importation and exportation of animals and animal products.
- To implement Risk Assessment Measures in order to assess the impact of various animal disease outbreaks and the risk of importing or exporting animals or animal products from/to other countries.
Public Health
To co-ordinate and implement various Food Safety projects, including the implementation of the Meat Safety Act (Act 40 of 200) and the prevention of Zoonotic or food borne diseases.
Veterinary Laboratory Services
To provide support service to the veterinary personnel, medical practitioners and farmers with regard to Diagnostic Services and Epidemiological Investigations of animal disease outbreaks.