KATHMANDU, FEBRUARY 26

The Animal Health and Livestock Service Entrepreneurs' Council Act, which recently came into effect, prohibits persons from carrying out animal health and livestock service business without getting registered with the council.

According to a notice published in the Nepal gazette, the concerned animal health and livestock service entrepreneur will have to submit an application along with prescribed documents and certificates of educational qualification to the council. However, entrepreneurs who are already registered with the Nepal Veterinary Council need not register with the proposed council.

If an entrepreneur is convicted of crimes likes corruption, rape, human trafficking, drug smuggling, money laundering, misuse of passport, kidnapping and other heinous crimes, his/ her registration with the council will be automatically cancelled.

The act also proposes to categorise animal health and livestock service entrepreneurs into four classes - A, B, C, and D according to their educational qualification and work experience. The council, the first of this kind, will comprise members, including women, in a proportional representation system from all seven provinces and related universities.

The notice states that any person convicted of criminal offences, involved in moral turpitude and those on the blacklist as per the law or who have lost mental balance will not be eligible to be appointed chairperson or member of the council.

The functions, duties and powers of the council are to formulate necessary policies, plans and programmes for development of animal health and livestock service business systematically and effectively and submit the same to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development for approval, implement the policies, plans and programmes approved by the government, provide suggestions to the MoALD to ensure the quality of animal products, animal breeding, and animal husbandry, and determine the qualification of animal health and livestock service entrepreneurs.

A version of this article appears in the print on February 27, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.