Veterinary and Para-Veterinary Professions Act, 1982 (Act No. 19 of 1982)RulesRules relating to the Practising of Veterinary Professions: AmendmentPart II : Conduct of persons practising veterinary professions5. Issuing of certificates |
| (1) | Certificates or other documents, which are issued by veterinary professionals in their professional capacity, shall contain facts and not any particulars based on hearsay. |
| (2) | A veterinary professional shall only certify those matters of which— |
| (a) | he/she has personal knowledge; |
| (b) | can be ascertained by him/her personally; or |
| (c) | are the subject of a supporting certificate from another veterinary professional who has personal knowledge of the matters in question and is authorised to provide such a supporting document. |
| (3) | The certificate referred to in rule 5(1) shall— |
| (a) | be prepared with care and accuracy; |
| (b) | be legible; |
| (c) | be unambiguous and easy to understand; |
| (d) | be produced on one sheet of paper or, where more than one page is required, shall be indivisible; and |
| (e) | contain dates that are written in words. |
| (4) | All certificates thus issued shall indicate— |
| (a) | The name and residential address of the owner of the animal concerned; |
| (b) | The address of the premises where the animal is kept; |
| (c) | The breed, sex, colour and age of the animal; |
| (d) | Any positive identification of the animal such as tattoo numbers, microchips and body markings where possible; |
| (e) | The purpose for which the animal is certified (e.g. hacking, racing, etc); and |
| (f) | The date of issue of the certificate as well as the date of examination of the animal must appear on the certificate; and |
| (g) | For vaccination certificates the following are also required— |
| (i) | The batch number or date of manufacture of the vaccine which has been used; and |
| (ii) | The date of vaccination of the animal concerned. |
| (5) | Any certificate or other document which is issued in a professional capacity by a veterinary professional, shall be signed by such a veterinary professional personally. |
| (6) | When signing a certificate, a veterinary professional shall ensure that— |
| (a) | he/she signs and completes any manuscript portions in ink; |
| (b) | the certificate contains no deletions, other than those, which are indicated on the face of the certificate to be permissible] and subject to such deletions being initialled by the certifying veterinary professional; |
| (c) | the certificate bears not only his/her signature but also, in clear lettering, his/her name, qualifications and address and, where applicable his/her official or practice stamp; and |
| (d) | no blank spaces are left on any certificates. |
| (7) | Students may not sign certificates. |
| (8) | An official translation of a certificate must be supplied when requested. |
| (9) | Copies of certificates issued by a veterinary professional must be retained for a minimum period of three years. |
| (10) | Original certificates should always be issued. |
| (11) | When required, a facsimile of a certificate will be acceptable provided that a witness is available to verify the contents of the facsimile (e.g. in court). The certifying veterinary professional must retain the original certificate. |
| (12) | Certificates should not require veterinary professionals to certify that there has been compliance with the laws of some other country, unless the provisions of the law are set out clearly on the certificate. |
| (13) | A veterinary professional should not issue certificates with regard to his/her own animals. |