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| Veterinary & Livestock Services Division |
VLSD Stands for Veterinary & Livestock Services Division, and falls under the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Production, Fisheries and Rural Development in St. Lucia.
Diseases
in animals are of great concern for the Island of St. Lucia. At present
we are enjoying the fact that we have no reports of any infectious
disease which is considered notifiable by the OIE (World Animal Health
Organization), and we are determined to keep it that way.
We
are very vigilant to prevent the introduction of these diseases into
the Island, for it can have serious economic and social implications.
The
Veterinary and Livestock Services Division not only is interested in
the prevention and control of diseases on island but also the
development of the livestock sector. Our division is further subdivided
into commodities where each commodity comprises of a team whose mission
is to educate, train and empower producers to maximize on their
production, product quality and profits.
OBJECTIVE:
To
assist the production of quality livestock through the generation and
transfer of appropriate technology and the promotion of good management
practices that are cost effective. This objective is accomplished by
putting the following in place:
- Providing farmers with improved genetic stock to facilitate improved blood lines.
- Monitoring
stock health by the routine farm visits, minimizing possibilities of
disease outbreak and controlling disease problems in the shortest time
span.
- Monitoring production levels.
- Protecting animal population from foreign animal diseases by implementing regulatory and quarantine services.
- Protecting public health through inspection of animals destined for slaughter and the products.
The
Veterinary and Livestock Services Division (VLSD) of the following
commodities and Services:
- Veterinary Public Health and Quarantine Services
- Ambulatory and Clinic Services
- Poultry Health and Management
- Swine Health and Management
- Small Ruminant Health and Management
- Cattle Health and Management
- Rabbit Health and Management
- Apiculture
- Endemic Disease Control/Veterinary Laboratories
The
commodity approach allows for the mobilization of our limited resources
available towards selected farmers, with the sole objective of
developing economically viable production and marketing entities.
