(Seychelles News Agency) - Veterinary services for domestic animals in Seychelles have been handed over to the private sector in line with new developments in the agricultural sector under a newly signed agreement.

Under the agreement, arrangements have been made for private vets to provide veterinary services to domestic animals and pets with the aim of improving this service for the general public.

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed last week between a private vet service, Paw Links Veterinary Care, and the National Biosecurity Agency.

Paw Links Veterinary Care officially started offering private veterinary care services to domestic animals and at the Union Vale Veterinary Clinic on the outskirt of the capital Victoria on Monday, May 20.

According to Antoine-Marie Moustache, the principal secretary for agriculture, “The clinic will treat mainly pets (cats and dogs) at a small cost for consultation and will also sell medicines and vitamins for the animals.”

Moustache added that the government “does recognise that if there is no service for pets, we can have a situation where diseases contracted by the small ones will affect other animals. We also understand the consequences of having stray dogs and cats in the country. With this private clinic, we hope that we will be able to control this situation.”

As for the treatment of farm animals, Moustache said that “these animals will be taken care by a group of government employed vets under the Biosecurity Agency. They will check the animals directly on the farms and no one should bring their animals to town.”

The agreement will be reviewed every six months to ensure that a regular and affordable service is offered by the clinic.

Moustache said that the decision to privatise the veterinary services clinic is because the Ministry of Agriculture currently does not have enough vets and it believes that it has to prioritise its goals.

“Our main preoccupation is to sustain the production of food. The group of vets that are taking over the clinic are already in the private sector and now they will be able to consolidate their work,” he said.

In the new agricultural plan 2018, the government of Seychelles, a group of 115 islands in the western Indian Ocean, will focus its effort on supporting livestock farmers and the production of food.

The focus of the new plan will be on livestock farmers and food production. (Romano Laurence, Seychelles News Agency) Photo License: CC-BY

Moustache explained that “animals from our farms -- chickens, pigs, goats and cows -- form part of our food sources. That is why we are interacting more with farmers and go directly on their farms.”

The one-year agreement covers the lease of the clinic which stands at SCR5000 ($367) and will be reviewed every six months to ensure that a regular and affordable service is offered to the public.

He added that he and his team recognise that if there is no service for pets, the country can have a situation where diseases contracted by the small ones will affect other animals.

“We also understand the consequences of having stray dogs and cats in the country. With this private clinic we hope that we will be able to control this situation,” said Moustache.