IZSAM at the scientific Congress of the Veterinary Association of Namibia

From the 22nd to the 24th of October 2014, the annual scientific Congress of the Veterinary Association of Namibia (VAN) was held in Swakopmund. The majority of the Namibian veterinarians of different sectors (from public health to freelance) take part in this event. This year the Congress focused on animal welfare, a topic of increasing interest in the southern African countries. Particularly Namibia, who exports bovine meat to Europe, has a great interest in improving the animal welfare conditions during transport and at slaughter to guarantee the respect of the necessary conditions during exportation to the UE.

The Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Abruzzo e del Molise “G. Caporale” (IZSAM), which is a Collaborating Centre of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and is holding numerous important and fruitful collaborations with African countries, was invited to participate in the Congress on animal welfare.

Doctor Stefano Messori of the Human-Animal Relationship and Animal Welfare Laboratory of IZSAM held three lectures related to the role of veterinarians in animal welfare protection during transport and slaughter. Contextually, Doctor Messori was invited to visit the First Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Namibia, which was founded this year. There he held an introductory lesson on animal welfare for the students, who are enrolled in the first year of the degree course.