SAVC lobbies home affairs to put vets back on SA’s critical skills list

The SAVC is aware of the recent widespread news coverage about the number of veterinarians leaving the country, meaning South Africa faces a potential skills crisis. We would like to assure our registrees that we are lobbying on your behalf to have vets reinstated on the Department of Home Affairs’ critical skills list.

A survey by the South African Veterinary Association found that a fifth of the vets aged 25 to 29 polled intended to emigrate. Our own records show that we are losing up to 150 vets a year to emigration. This is raising alarm bells in a country that has only 60 to 70 vets per million citizens, already far below the international norm of 200 to 400 vets per million.

While we need to look at retention strategies and accrediting more tertiary education facilities to offer veterinary science, the SAVC is also formally lobbying the department on behalf of veterinary and para-veterinary professionals to urgently relook at the critical skills list. This is not only so that South Africa can meet its animal healthcare needs in the future, but also to ensure food safety and security.

The removal of vets and veterinary nurses from the critical skills list in February 2022 makes it harder for foreign vets to obtain a work visa for South Africa.

Veterinarians who qualify in the United Kingdom or Australasia may practise here without having to write our exams, but first have to perform a year’s compulsory community service (CCS) through the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development once they have registered with the SAVC.

Furthermore, the Council is of the view that because international veterinary students studying here pay full, unsubsidised tuition fees, they should be exempted from CCS, as there is no “debt” repayable to the South African taxpayer. The necessary amendments to the CCS regulations are under discussion with the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development.

In both cases, qualified and student vets will inevitably run into difficulties obtaining work permits and posts in South Africa because their skills are not listed as being scarce.

All of this makes it incredibly difficult for foreign vets and students to come to South Africa to add capacity to our veterinary profession.

It is for this reason that the SAVC continues to engage with government departments to reassess the critical skills list and to exempt foreign vets and students from having to perform CCS, making it easier for them to come and work here. We undertake to keep our registrees updated on any progress made in this regard.

Reminder about the certification of African horse sickness vaccinations for movement control purposes: https://mailchi.mp/savc/savc-dalrrd-reminder-letter-regarding-certification-of-ahs-vaccination-for-ahs-movement-control-purposes

Alert about the theft of Euthanaze (Pentobarbital) and Propofol: https:// mailchi.mp/savc/savc-alert-pta-and-jhb-veterinarians-veterinary-nurses-theftof-euthanaze-and-propofol

Update about the outbreak and surveillance of foot-and-mouth disease: https://mailchi.mp/savc/savc-nahf-fmd-update-and-surveillance

Way forward on the shortage of critical vaccine: https://mailchi.mp/savc/savcnahf-joint-press-release-shortage-of-critical-vaccine

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