Whistle-blower app to expose illegal vets and para-vet workers

To counter a worrying trend of unregistered veterinary and para-veterinary workers treating animals, the South African Veterinary Council (SAVC) has set up a dedicated whistle-blowing app.

Transgressions can be reported anonymously via the dedicated ExposeIT app, which is part of a bigger compliance project to encourage the public to provide the SAVC with evidence of people “falsely purporting to be veterinary or para-veterinary professionals, as well as qualified professionals practising despite not being registered with the regulatory body”.

The council said this unlawful behaviour poses a serious threat to the health and wellbeing of South Africa’s animals, as well as food security. 

The app will be monitored during business hours and after a complaint has been assessed, the complainant will be prompted to provide more information about the alleged transgression.

If sufficient evidence is submitted and the complaint is valid, it will be referred to the SAVC’s legal division or its inspectorate for investigation.

“If there is sufficient evidence to warrant it, the complaint will be referred for criminal prosecution or for other punitive or disciplinary measures,” said Dinamarie Stoltz, SAVC director of legal affairs.

She said the growing number of incidences of unregistered individuals delivering veterinary and para-veterinary services — not just laypersons but also professionals who have been removed from the SAVC register due to the nonpayment of their annual maintenance fees and those working from unregistered premises — is cause for concern.

“It also sometimes happens that a veterinary facility, though registered with the SAVC, does not comply with the minimum standards for that category of facility. It is not uncommon for this to happen, as all veterinary facilities are only inspected once in a six-year cycle,” said Stoltz.

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