April 17, 2007

APHIS to modify its national veterinary accreditation programme

The US Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has drafted possible changes from its original proposal in revamping the National Veterinary Accreditation Programme.

The plan is still to establish two accreditation categories in place of the current single category. Under the original proposal, Category I accreditation would have authorized veterinarians to perform regulatory tasks on animals that people commonly keep as pets. Category II accreditation would have authorized veterinarians to perform regulatory tasks on all animals.

Comments on the original proposal led APHIS to reconsider the division between the accreditation categories. Some household pets are susceptible to diseases for which APHIS has control or eradication programs. Pet birds are susceptible to poultry diseases such as avian influenza, for example, and pot-bellied pigs are susceptible to the same diseases as farm-raised swine.

Under the supplemental proposal, Category I accreditation would authorize veterinarians to perform regulatory tasks primarily on cats and dogs-plus some exotic pets other than birds. Category I accreditation would not apply to food or fibre animals, horses, farm-raised fish, poultry, other livestock, or birds or zoo animals that can transmit diseases to livestock. Category II accreditation would still authorise veterinarians to perform regulatory tasks on all animals.