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Health Certification:
Health certificates are often required for animals that are travelling to different provinces or other countries. The nature of the examination and the tests required depend on the species and the province or country of destination. It is important to liaise with the State Veterinary authorities in the country of destination to determine the nature of the Health Certificate and the tests and treatments required, well in advance to ensure a smooth importation into the country of destination. Kowie Vet Clinic is equipped to advise you and direct you to reliable animal transport companies to provide a hassle-free translocation experience.
Horses travelling to the African Horse Sickness (AHS) Free and Protection Zones of the Western Cape require specific import permits and pre-notification and health certificates accompany the horses in transit. It should be sent with their passports to the State Vet Boland.
Following the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreaks in the Kouga District of the Eastern Cape, veterinary health certification is often required prior to transportation of cloven-hooved livestock before they leave FMD free certified farms.
Kowie Vet Clinic will liaise with the relevant authorities to smooth your animals` passage.
Pre-Purchase Examinations:
Pre-Purchase Examinations are most often requested for sport horses. These detailed examinations are customised according to the purpose for which the horses will be utilised. It includes a full clinical examination, walking, trotting, cantering and lunging. Flexion tests of numerous joints are also performed. Exercise is performed on hard and soft ground to detect subtle lameness. The horse is then examined in the discipline for which it is being purchased e.g. showjumping. Where necessary radiographic (X-ray) and Ultrasound studies are also performed. All the examinations and findings are recorded on our Kowie Vet Clinic pre-purchase exam form and the resulting certificate is signed by the owner/vendor, the prospective buyer and the examining veterinarian.
Breeding Soundness Examinations:
Breeding Soundness examinations are most often performed on production animals; particularly cattle, but also sheep and goats prior to the breeding season and before auctions or sales. They are also sometimes performed on horses and valuable wildlife. In female animals the reproductive organs particularly the ovaries and uterus are examined, either by transrectal palpation or ultra-sonographic scans.
In male animals the testes, penis and accessory sex glands are examined. Semen collection is performed by electro-stimulation. The semen is then evaluated for volume and consistency and examined under the microscope for sperm motility, both mass and individual. Supravital stains are then made of semen smears to examine the sperm vitality and morphology under high-powered magnification.
Once it is established that the individual animals have exceeded the minimum requirements, certificates of breeding soundness may be issued by the examining vet.
Disease Prevention &Vaccination Programs:
There are many viral, bacterial, rickettsial and protozoal diseases that pose a threat to production animals, equine, poultry and wildlife health and productivity. There are also hundreds of vaccines available on the market. It is important to be aware of which diseases are a priority to prevent, and which are lower risk for your production unit or individual animals. At Kowie Vet Clinic we can assist you in setting up a vaccine program that is optimal for your particular species, breed, herd, area and farm. We can also guide you as to when it may be advisable to institute prophylactic treatment to control disease outbreaks.
Herd Health:
While individual animals remain important in farming, the overall health and productivity of the herd is paramount. At Kowie Vet we can assist the farmer in setting up Herd Health Programs to optimise their enterprise. We help integrate disease surveillance, prevention and treatment, parasite control, grazing management and other nutrition and breeding soundness and pregnancy checks.
Where necessary we liaise with the relevant local, provincial and national State Veterinary authorities to achieve these goals. We also engage with the necessary laboratories and Onderstepoort where necessary.
With substantial farming and veterinary experience in this area over 3 decades, Kowie Vet Clinic is well placed to advise clients on optimising the health and productivity of their farm animal, equine and wildlife operations.
