Cape Town- As Western Cape Minister of Agriculture, Dr Ivan Meyer welcomed the news that the export of thoroughbred horses from South Africa to the EU has resumed after a 14-year absence, concerns have yet again been raised about the shortage of veterinarians in the country which could see deadly consequences for animals.
Meyer this week echoed that this new venture would create an estimated 177 000 jobs in the horse racing and breeding industry alone.
This as the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) revealed that 100 veterinarians leave the country every year to work overseas, when only about 140 qualify every year.
The ACDP penned its concerns stating that South Africa has about 4 000 registered vets, of which 230 are specialists.
The political party said it meant there are just more than 60 vets per million people while there should at least be between 200 and 400 vets per million people in term of the general international standards, according to the South African Veterinary Council (SAVC).
In June, Meyer also confirmed there was an outbreak of foot-and-mouth Disease (FMD) in cattle and carried out inspections with local veterinarians.
Premier Alan Winde requested that Meyer write to National Minister of Agriculture, John Steenhuisen, asking for a temporary ban on the movement of livestock into Western Cape.
The Department later declared parts of the Eastern Cape a Disease Management Area (DMA).
Seasoned Animal Welfare Society of South Africa veterinarian Allan Perrins said there was a definite skills shortage of SAVC registered veterinarians and veterinary nurses and that it had an impact on the health care of animals in the country.
He explained that in many cases animal welfare facilities had to operate without a veterinarian and rely on the skills of a nurse.
“There are several negative consequences of this unfortunate state of affairs, the most obvious being an unsustainable pet to vet ratio resulting in a burgeoning market for quacks masquerading as veterinary professionals with deadly consequences for the pets of owners unable to readily access or afford proper care for their animals,” he detailed.
“Most charitable animal welfare organisations have to make do without a full-time veterinarian or veterinary nurse as demand exceeds supply and they simply cannot afford to pay competitive market-related salaries.
“Many animal welfare practices find it hard to attract and retain the services of veterinarians or veterinary nurses as the pace is relentless and the type of cases treated is extreme.
“Some do not have the appetite to have to deal with aggressive pet owners who try to take advantage of the system designed to benefit the poorest of the poor whilst others prefer to work in safer or more affluent areas with the prospects of earning a good living.
“You don’t have to be a genius to conclude that a shortage of veterinarians is detrimental to the health of all animals and South Africa has millions of animals – domestic, farm and wild animals all dependent on a dwindling number of veterinarians.”
Earlier Meyer said according to a recent SA Veterinary Association report, over 50% of South Africa's young veterinarians want to leave.
This week his office did not respond to additional questions about the impact of the exodus of veterinarians.
Meyer explained that the correct and proper ratio internationally was between 200 and 400 veterinarians per million of the population and that currently, there are about 60 to 70 veterinarians per million in South Africa.
He said it represented about 25% of our country's needs and called it a crisis.
ACDP said they were calling on authorities to ensure that skills were not being lost abroad.
“More needs to be done so as not to lose well-trained and skilled South African vets who have the necessary skills to address the multiplicity of animals and related challenges facing our nation,” they said.
Senior veterinarian of the Western Cape Department of Agriculture Dr Vivian Malan said the EU added South Africa to the list of countries approved to export horses in May 2024 after an audit team visited South Africa in October 2022 – and made sure that the new batch of horses were healthy and quarantined.
“The rigorous control measures in place to control the movement from the African Horse sickness-infected area into the control area in the Western Cape was the main reason for allowing the export of horses again,” she said.
“Before horses can be exported, they must be quarantined at an approved quarantine facility.
“State veterinarians, attached to the department’s Boland Veterinary Office, oversee the quarantine, monitor the horses' health during the quarantine, and certify the horses for export before departure.”