Today, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the draft law №3318 "On Veterinary Medicine and Animal Welfare". The UAC welcomes the adoption of this important bill, as it will bring the Ukrainian veterinary system closer to the European one.

The bill was developed with the active Association of Milk Producers participation, which is a part of the UAC. Work on the bill as part of a working group lasted more than two years.

The document takes into account important changes proposed by the AMP:

• introduction of the concept of welfare of farm animals and creation of appropriate conditions for their keeping, which is a standard practice in the EU;
• improvement of the activities of licensed veterinarians, who will have to perform part of the functions of the state service

The law regulates key issues related to: protection of animals’ health and welfare; quarantine measures implementation; veterinary practice; production, veterinary samples circulation and use; organizations of public administration, education and science in the field of veterinary medicine.

We expect that the law:

• will implement the requirements of 14 EU acts, introduces conditions for the establishment of an institution of private licensed veterinarians;
• will eliminate the need to obtain 2 veterinary documents - vet-san card and veterinary certificate;
• will introduce additional control over the use of antibiotics and antimicrobial drugs, which will reduce the problem of antibiotic resistance;
• will reduce the time of issuance of veterinary documents from 30 days to one;
• will allow to receive veterinary documents and prescriptions in electronic form;
• will carry out termless registration of veterinary samples (instead of every 5 years);
• will make stronger liability for violations in the areas of veterinary medicine and animal welfare.