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Pressing Agenda: Veterinary Authority Body

Posted Thursday, 01/07/2010 by admin

Approaching 100 years of veterinary medicine in Indonesia, the Indonesian Veterinary Medical Association (PDHI) has a very pressing agenda, which is to review Act no 18 year 2009 on Animal Husbandry and Health. The main issue was to protect the public from diseases from other countries which could result from the weak veterinary authority in Indonesia.
Besides by PDHI, 18 other organizations also criticized the Act which was legalized on June 4, 2009. At a constitutional court held on November 12, 2009, the organizations questioned Verse 44 Line (3), Verse 59 Line (2), Verse 59 Line (4), and Verse 68 Line (4). The verses were believed to contradict the 1945 Constitution (UUD 1945).

From all verses in question, the most crucial matter was how weak the veterinary authority was put in the act. Verse 68 Line (4) stated “In realizing global animal health through the National Animal Health System as stated in line (2), the Minister ‘could’ assign the authority to the veterinary authority”.
The act has clearly stated the definition of the veterinary authority. The veterinary authority is a government entity and/or an entity developed by the government to be the highest decision maker for animal health related issues with the involvement of the veterinary profession and all its professional capacity in identifying problems, making policies, coordinating the implementation, and managing technical operations in the field.
But, with the word “could” in Verse 68 Line (4), the veterinary authority is weakened because the highest decision in animal health has become the authority of the minister which is a political position, not one based on expertise and professional authority. “Now all depends on the minister,” said former Director General of Livestock Dr Sofjan Sudradjat Djajalogawa, MS, DVM.
The Ministry of Agriculture’s lack of concern on the veterinary authority has been felt since Indonesia Bersatu I Cabinet. Before that, through Staatsblad 1912, the position of veterinarians in the veterinary authority was strong. With such strong veterinary authority, Rinderpest which first emerged in 1875 in Indonesia had been successfully eradicated in 1930.
In the future, veterinary authority is becoming more and more important because in the last few years infectious diseases capable of transmitting from animal to human have emerged and re-emerged. Three of the diseases that are most well known are influenza A-H1N1, influenza H5N1, and rabies.
Former General Chairman of PDHI, Sri Dadi Wiryosuhanto, DVM, gave an example that those three diseases are very hard to mitigate because of weak veterinary authority. Therefore, the presence of the Veterinary Authority Body is a must. (BUR)

Source : Kompas