The Legislative Assembly (AL) yesterday passed a government-initiated bill to licence and regulate the city’s veterinarians, veterinary clinics and other animal businesses, and Secretary for Administration and Justice André Cheong Weng Chon said it was “not appropriate” to include non-professional people on the government-appointed veterinary committee “for now”.
The bill provides for the setting-up of a committee consisting of seven veterinary professionals tasked with assessing and approving applications for those wishing to be licensed to work as a veterinarian in Macau. The committee will be tasked with compiling a list of officially-accepted veterinary degrees and veterinary practice qualifications, as well as investigating alleged malpractices by veterinarians.
During yesterday’s plenary session in the legislature’s hemicycle for the bill’s final article-by-article debate and vote, some lawmakers expressed concern about the composition of the committee, and commented that other stakeholders in the city, such as representatives of pet owners and animal protectionists should be included in the committee in order to better protect animal rights.
Cheong, however, said that it was not appropriate for the committee to involve people without a professional veterinary background, as animal protection organisations can exercise their rights in other areas to protect animals, and that resolving medical disputes would become “complicated” if non-professionals were included in the committee.
According to the policy secretary, future operation of the veterinary committee will be set by supplementary administrative regulations, and after the establishment of the veterinary committee, there will be specific regulations on the conditions for veterinarian professional certifications, the application procedure and the development of a code of practice for the veterinary profession.
The bill will take effect on April 1 next year, after its promulgation in the Official Gazette (BO).
Secretary for Administration and Justice André Cheong Weng Chon addresses yesterday’s plenary session in the legislature’s hemicycle about the vet bill. – Photo courtesy of TDM
