You can be arrested for transporting that animal illegally!

Romanos is a dear cousin and an upcoming farmer who seeks my vet services on several occasions.

The young man works with a bank in Kitale town; an area with a lot of good dairy animal stocks. He got himself a few heifers.

Recently he called me to seek my advice on his herd: “Daktari I need to transport that heifer you assisted me to buy.

The owner says he can no longer hold it on his farm. Are there legal and animal welfare aspects of this process?”

I was happy that indeed Romanos had an idea that he needed to conform to some legal requirements.

Chicken carried upside down on racks of speeding buses, matatus and motorcycles are common but disgusting scenes on our roads.

I have seen lorries and pick-ups loaded with animals packed like they aren’t sentient beings. Some even end up dying before their final destination. Transporting animals from one area to another is an exercise that must be done within the law to curtail any criminal activities and as a legal measure to prevent spread of diseases.

The law requires that you obtain a movement permit from veterinary in the area where the animal is being moved from and a ‘No-Objection’ letter from where the animal is moving to.

To get the movement permit you must first obtain the no-objection letter from the destination veterinary authorities.

Movement permit

Before issuing the movement permit the veterinary authority has to inspect the vessel that will be used to transport the live animals to ensure it meets the requisite safety standards. The animal must be in perfect health and shouldn’t be moving from or into a quarantine zone; for this can spread diseases.

These legal measures are there to ensure that the animals being moved have been acquired in the right way and don’t spread any diseases into their new location.

Sometimes it will require that if they are moving from a region where a certain disease is endemic then the animal must be vaccinated against the specific disease. For instance, foot and Mouth Disease. In addition if the animal will pass through a certain area where a certain disease is endemic for example Contagious Bovine Pleuorpneumonia then precautions must be taken that include not stopping over in such areas to limit contact. The law requires that the animal too doesn’t carry parasites from one region to another.

Animal welfare is ingrained in our Kenyan laws in Cap 360 – Prevention of Cruelty to Animal Act and it lists cruel treatment of animals during transportation as an offense punishable in a court of law.

That should be the entry point for our traffic policemen, veterinarians and the lay public that witness such unlawful acts.

Transportation is also a stressful exercise as it causes mental stress to an animal. Transportation also causes injuries, hunger and dehydration not to forget heat or cold stress depending on what time the animal is transported.

Such stressful conditions can easily trigger diseases as the immune system is also compromised.

Diseases like bloat can occur in cows when they aren’t given ample space or when forced to adapt a seating posture that compromises eructation for long.

To prevent these it is recommended that you involve a veterinarian in the planning of the transportation. Choose a day that is not too cold or too hot to avoid weather conditions stressful to the animal.

On arrival have a vet inspect the animal for any injuries; an injection of multi-vitamins can help the animal in overcoming transportation stress related health complications.

- The writer is the winner of Vet of the Year Award 2016 and works with the Kenya Tsetse and Trypanosomiasis Eradication Council –KENTTEC, [email protected]