Law No. 4/2023 “Law on Veterinary Clinical Care and Commercial Activity of Animals” will come into effect on 1 April, establishing the regime of veterinary professional accreditation and the regime of licensing and supervision of establishments of veterinary clinical care, breeding, sale or boarding of animals. Currently, the Council of Veterinary Medicine Professionals has orderly developed the relevant conditions for certification of accreditation and the code of professional ethics. Besides, the council provides professional opinions on the relevant list of medicines, guidelines on business activities, technical requirements for installation of establishments, etc. and monitors the practice and discipline of local veterinary surgeons in accordance with the law, so as to promote the development of veterinary clinical care and commercial activities of animals in Macao and reinforce animal protection and public health protection.

The Council of Veterinary Medicine Professionals is established in accordance with Administrative Regulation No. 22/2023 to facilitate the implementation of the law. Since the official start of its operation in July last year, the council has convened more than 20 work meetings to proactively follow up on various preliminary work for the implementation of the law. The members of the council also exchanged visits with an expert group from the College of Veterinary Medicine of the South China Agricultural University (SCAU) of China earlier to discuss topics such as professional accreditation and sustainable professional development.

Currently, the Council of Veterinary Medicine Professionals has successively developed the “Regime of Certification of Professional Accreditation of Veterinary Surgeons”, the “Code of Professional Ethics of Veterinary Surgeons” and other standards, and provides professional opinions on the relevant list of medicines, guidelines on business activities, technical requirements for installation of establishments, etc. The relevant information and documents have been published in the “Official Gazette of the Macao Special Administrative Region” and uploaded to the dedicated webpage of the Council of Veterinary Medicine Professionals (www.cpmv.gov.mo) for the information of the sector and the public.

Furthermore, the Council of Veterinary Medicine Professionals will work with the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) to popularise the “Law on Veterinary Clinical Care and Commercial Activity of Animals” and explain the certification of professional accreditation, the code of professional ethics, and the transitional arrangements to the sector, so that the sector and the public can better understand how the new law, especially the standardised management requirements for the sector, is relevant to them. For the details of the briefings, the public may refer to the notices on the dedicated webpage of the Council of Veterinary Medicine Professionals or the IAM website.