WEB Vetnews Feb 2016

41 / 52

Feb 2016 39
SAVA I SAVV
During the course of the past few months,
the SAVA has been involved in a variety
of activities, all on behalf of its members.
These included the following:
A: Legal matters
1. Based on our complaint to the Advertising Standards
Authority (ASA) regarding a pet food product that
claimed (on the bag) that it was formulated by a
"veterinary dietician", the ASA made a ruling that the
company should remove this claim from its product.
The company was given six (6) months to comply,
allowing them to use up the printed bags in stock.
2. Representatives of the SAVA will attend the workshops
on the review of the rules pertaining to the veterinary
para-professions.
3. Input on Veterinary Procedural Note 9: Buffalo Disease
Risk Management was submitted to DAFF by the
Wildlife Group, on behalf of the SAVA.
4. The Board of Directors has requested Groups and
Branches, and the Wildlife Group specifically, to
provide input on the draft amendments of the norms
and standards of the marking of rhinoceros and
rhinoceros horn and for the hunting of rhinoceros
for trophy hunting purposes. The board will collate
all input and make a submission to Department of
Environmental Affairs (DEA) in this regard.
B: Veterinary Strategy
1. The invitation from the DAFF to participate in
workshops on a National Veterinary Strategy was
forwarded to Groups and Branches, with a request that
representatives should attend each of the workshops
(across the country).
C: SA Veterinary Council
1. The board of directors submitted a request to the
SAVC to reconsider the decision that all veterinarians
who had, in the past, not registered a practice/worked
from a registered practice were expected to pay an
“admission of guilt” fine. This was especially aimed
at veterinarians who work as consultants and not from
a specific facility/building. The SAVC subsequently
decided to postpone a final decision in this regard
and to, in the interim, refer suspect registrations
to the Investigation Committee. The Investigations
Committees will make an assessment of these
suspect registrations on a case-by-case basis, each
case on its own merit.
D: Education and Training
1. Information on the HWSETA Workplace Skills
Programme and
Annual Training
Report Workshops
has been distributed to Groups and Branches.
2. SAVA members now have access to the World
Veterinary Association Education Portal (managed
by WCEA) through the Commonwealth Veterinary
Association. Please note that this will be regarded
as unstructured CPD, as the various courses have not
each been accredited by the SAVC.
WVA Education Network’s CVA Portal
The CVA is delighted to be offering a new online
education portal for all CVA members. We are trying to
make continuing education easy for our members. As
the course materials increase, you will be able to stay
up-to-date with the latest veterinary innovations and
developments. Many courses are free to take. Others
have fees ranging from $US5 upwards. There are already
hundreds of online courses available. There is also the
ability to have the system track your online courses for
you and provide certificates of completion.
Everyone that registers will have their own account
and can create their own profile, thereby getting the
education that is most relevant to their requirements.
The system will allow you to record all continuing
education undertaken, both online and live events.
Please support this initiative by registering at
/
E. Medication and related
1. As a result of pressure exerted by the SAVA, animal
health and animal production organisations, OBP is
doing an online survey to improve their service. It is
a short questionnaire and takes just a few minutes to
complete. Every veterinarian who uses OBP products
should take the time to complete the survey at
F. Marketing
1. The new SAVA Website has been launched – more
information elsewhere in this issue of VetNews.
2. We still continue to distribute a regular newsletter
by e-mail to all members. If you do not receive
this newsletter, please contact Christelle on
3. A fruitful meeting with the veterinary industry was
held towards the end of 2015. Representatives from
industry will assist the SAVA Congress Committee to
make the next SAVA Biennial Congress (to be held in
2017) a huge success. v
Your SAVA has been active – thanks to you