Eyes on Animals training material is now in use in Macedonia to train the official veterinarians there on animal transport legislation and practical tips to enforce it correctly. Macedonia is not yet part of the EU but their ambition is to enforce the same animal-welfare requirements as in the EU in order to improve their chances of entry. Judging by the conditions on the livestock markets there, this is a good thing.
Our good colleagues from AWF/TSB were invited by the Macedonian Food and Veterinary Agency to be present as the experts on animal-welfare during transport. The course lasted 4 days. The first two days where dedicated to animal welfare during transport. On the first day a theoretical part was organized. On the second day they visited a local livestock market in Bitola. At the beginning of the course the veterinarian inspectors had to complete a questionnaire on animal welfare issues. The same questionnaire was than answered after the training in order to evaluate the level of acquired knowledge. After the two day training the veterinarians had to prepare a short presentation where they underlined the main animal welfare problems observed at the market. An action plan was made and the deadline for reaching the improvements was set. The team was invited again to join the veterinary inspectors as experts on animal welfare during transport later this year when the officials will visit all the main animal markets in the Republic of Macedonia with the task of starting to implement the Regulation EC 1/2005.
For the purpose of the training course, the EonA brochure summarizing the 1/2005 Regulation (and used for our police training course) was translated into Macedonian. The brochure was distributed to all veterinary competent authorities in the Republic of Macedonia. The brochure will also be published on the Macedonian Food and Veterinary Agency home page.
