Egyptians reluctant to accept a health law proposal

A new draft law in Egypt which stipulates issuance of IDs for animals, faces hard acceptance in the country, and many see it as a costly measure.

The proposed IDs for animals will include all necessary information such as names and contacts of their owners, and description of the places where they were kept.

The presented proposal was by the veterinary bloc at the People’s Assembly, Egypt’s lower house of parliament, and the preparation of the draft law was in cooperation with Ministry of Agriculture representatives and the Veterinaries Syndicate.

After collecting and registering the information needed, IDs will be issued to each animal to create a data base inclusive of all animals registered in Egypt.

The North African country had the highest number of bird flu related deaths in 2010. About 10 of the 25 bird related flu cases have died. Also, according to the World Health Organization, 50 percent of the bird flu deaths were in Egypt.

Instead, a group of veterinary MPs argued that the law will provide a high level of protection for animals as well as for consumers who use their meat, milk, or any other products, and it will help to prevent outbreaks of animal-related diseases.

Not feasible

Issuing an ID for animals is an internationally recognized procedure, said Dr. Hossam al-Attar, dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Egypt’s Banha University.

“Egypt is very late in applying the animal ID policy,” he told AlArabiya.net. “It is very important to issue an ID for each animal in order to know its history, the vaccines it got, and how many times it got infected with certain diseases.”

Attar added that IDs help in the daily medical checkups of the animals, and can stave off any possible diseases by measuring changes in weight or milk production in case of mammals.

But the project’s major drawbacks are high costs and the reluctance of owners to pay large amounts of money, Attar said.

“Farm owners will pay a lot of money to take part in the project, especially in poultry farms. They also don’t have enough awareness about the importance of the information to be available in the data base.”

It is very important to issue an ID for each animal in order to know its history, the vaccines it got, and how many times it got infected with certain diseases

Veterinary Medicine professor Dr. Hossam al-Attar

Culturally awkward

Dr. Hassan Moustafa, professor of poultry and animal health in Cairo University, also finds it unlikely that the law will be applied in Egypt.

“What is done abroad is not necessarily applicable here,” he told AlArabiya.net. “For example, some countries use music to help the digestion and nutrition of animals. This will never happen here.”

He added that this law can be easily applied to all animals as it might work with horses and cattle, but this system is very difficult to apply to poultry.

“The whole poultry industry in Egypt is run in a very random way. For example, many people insist on buying poultry alive and raising it at home. They also avoid veterinary campaigns to examine the animals.”

Moustafa described the data base approach as "not helpful”, and suggested preemptive measures to curb the prevalence of animal diseases.

“The government has to treat the source of the problem first and follow the steps of animal safety measures.”


(Translated from the Arabic by Sonia Farid)

Some countries use music to help the digestion and nutrition of animals. This will never happen here

Poultry and animal health professor Dr. Hassan Moustafa