Similar to those working in the medical field Vets aren’t just “vets”. There’s a wide range of the qualifications, experience, and specialties. One of the specialties you’ll see on a vet’s website is called an “OV”. What exactly is an OV? What are they? Are they essential for you as an owner of a pet?
What’s an OV?
An Official Veterinarian is a vet licensed to do duties on behalf of government. Usually, this is in relation with public health. All vets with OV status are licensed veterinary surgeons but not all veterinary surgeons qualify as OVs. To be an OV vets need to complete additional training known as the Official Control Qualifications (Veterinary) or OCQ(V). They must then be approved through an agency called the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA).
What are they doing?
The importance of OVs is much greater than the majority of people think!
Food Safety
A number of crucial tasks for an OV is to ensure the area of hygiene in food and animal welfare when it comes to trade in meat and slaughter. The UK is home to one of the highest standards of animal and food safety standards globally. This is largely due to the usage of OVs. There’s an OV in each slaughterhouse for animals. The OV helps in inspecting the carcasses of the animals after slaughter. It ensures that the meat is suitable to be eaten by humans and also helps identify concerns with the animal’s welfare that it suffered from, such as the presence of worms or other injuries. Since each carcass is thoroughly examined, it is simple to keep a carcass with a health issue from being a part of to the food chain.
It is essential that OVs examine the animals and the products they produce both before and after slaughter to ensure that their products are safe for human consumption, and also assure customers that their meat is of a certain standard. There are many diseases that are transmitted by animals to humans. Therefore, OVs play a crucial role in reducing outbreaks of foodborne illnesses. In addition, OVs are an important method of identifying diseases that are not easily detected that are not easily detected, like feet and mouth diseases mad cow diseases, specific tapeworms and many more that can cause harm to animals and human health when not detected and treated quickly.
It is the OV will also make sure that every animal carcass is properly labeled, processed properly and any by-products are get disposed of in a safe manner. If there is a concern regarding the safety of food at any time during the process the OV can stop production until the problem is addressed.
Animal Welfare
When the animals are brought to slaughterhouses, they are checked. If there is any issue that need to be addressed, the OV is informed so that modifications can be made at the farm , or through the transportation. This ensures the welfare of animals and the quality of meat. Post-mortem inspections are another opportunity to check for issues with the welfare of animals on the farm regardless of whether they are not affecting the health of humans, like the ectoparasites.
In slaughterhouses, vets are also in charge of “emergency slaughter,” which occurs animals are suffering from any kind of discomfort or if its welfare is compromised the vet is able to swiftly kill the animal with humane methods to prevent further suffering.
Importation of animals and exportation of animal products
The OVs can also play a part in addition to slaughterhouses. When animals are transported out from the UK (this usually via sea from ports as it is an island) It must be legal. This means that an OV must sign multiple documents referred to in the form of Export Health Certificates (EHC). An EHC guarantees that the animals are transported in a safe, secure, and efficient manner and can be tracked. This is essential to determine and stop cases of outbreaks of disease. When a disease is discovered within an animal originally from the UK it is identified by EHCs. It also helps to limit illegal movements of animals, which could affect the welfare of animals.
Another result of Brexit, following our departure from the EU OVs play a different function, this time for companion animals. Prior to Brexit, traveling into the EU with pets was a requirement for an animal passport that was simple to obtain. Since Brexit has taken place, the UK is now considered as a third nation by EU which means that every pet that is admitted to the EU must be accompanied by the submission of an Animal Health Certificate (AHC) to be completed with an OV. An OV must verify that your pet’s microchip is and up-to-date with their routine vaccinations, has received a rabies vaccination (or blood test) and has been treated for tapeworms, if they’re dogs. AHC AHC can take a long time to be signed correctly and is only for one-time use unlike the prior pet passport. It can cost a traveler PS100 or more per pet each time they travel. Previously, pet passports were approximately PS60 as well. They were also valid for the duration of their validity.
In reality, OVs have always been signing AHCs for pets that travel to locations outside the EU however, since EU pet travel is significantly more prevalent, OVs are finding they are signing more AHCs than they did prior to Brexit.
Are OVs important for you?
Ovs are extremely important to everyone, regardless of whether you do not have pets and do not consume meat. Food-borne illnesses can be a huge threat to health and are easily transmitted from person to person with no eating meat. OVs reduce the risk significantly, and help to stop outbreaks quickly when they occur. One of the most notable examples is the outbreak of mad cow disease that occurred in the 1980s and 90s. it is known as a prions (abnormal proteins) disease that spread through beef that was infected by spinal cord or brain tissue. This complicated and slow-moving disease led to gradual neurological symptoms and then death in cattle and humans. The epidemic caused the slaughter of millions of cattle.
Since this time, new legislation has put an end to any further spread An OV aids in this by making sure that the spinal cord and brain tissue is properly removed from the slaughterhouse, which prevents contamination of the meat. Even if you don’t know it, you’re protected by OVs each day. This concept of keeping the human and animal lives is known as One Health. They are therefore a crucial link between vets who are regular and medical professionals for humans.
If you’re looking at the website of a vet and you see a vet listed as an OV it could be relevant to you when you are planning for a trip with pet.
Traveling isn’t permissible in the absence of an AHC obtained from an OV Therefore, you must be sure to contact an OV prior to your travel. Since not all vets are one, it is possible that you might be required to locate another vet practice that is OOV if you do not have one. It’s understandable that this is a hassle, especially in the case of a simple pet passport system before. However, remember that AHCs exist to safeguard human and animal wellbeing, both in UK as well as abroad. Both tapeworms and rabies can be deadly to humans, and can cause diseases, so making sure the animals are safe is good for humans too.
In the end, OVs working in small animal practices are in search of any conditions that could affect human health, including Rabies Toxoplasma, parasites and other. While looking for an OV in the local clinic as a pet’s owner isn’t essential however, it is a good idea in certain circumstances.