World Organisation for Animal Health
The World Organisation for Animal Health ( OIE ) (English: World Organisation for Animal Health ) is an international organization with headquarters in Paris.
The organization was founded in 1924 under the name Office International des Epizooties, at the suggestion of the Secretary-General of the League of initially 28 states. The immediate cause was an outbreak of rinderpest in 1920 in Belgium, after Zebus had spread the plague in Antwerp during their transport from India to Brazil.
The supreme organ of the OIE International Committee, which consists of one representative from each Member State. It appoints a Director General as Head of the OIE Central Bureau; since 1 January 2001, this is the French veterinarians Bernard Vallat. He is among others in Paris a management fee to the side; in other world regions, the OIE has in each case other regional commissions. Furthermore, there are four commissions: for the scientific analysis of animal diseases, for standards in animal husbandry, for Labor Standards and aquatic life.
The OIE is cooperating on the basis of contracts with many other international organizations such as the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO ) and the World Health Organization (WHO ) as well as with non-governmental organizations such as the International Federation for Animal Health, the International Veterinary Biosafety Workgroup and the World Veterinary Association.
Tasks of the OIE
In the division of labor with the established by the United Nations immediately after the Second World War, FAO and WHO, OIE, among other things responsible for the following tasks:
- Transparency: All Member States are obliged to report the outbreaks of animal diseases to the OIE, which forwards it to the other States, so there adequate preventive measures can be taken.
- Collection of scientific data: OIE collects all available publications on animal diseases and their control and makes them available to the Member States.
- International cooperation: OIE promotes scientific exchanges across national borders.
- Elaboration of standards: OIE guidelines works out for the control of animal diseases and standards for hygienic animal husbandry.
- Development aid: OIE supports developing countries in measures to prevent the outbreak of animal diseases.
- Food Safety: OIE understands the control of animal diseases by optimizing housing conditions as a contribution to improving the quality of foods of animal origin.
Among the animal diseases that must be reported to the OIE include all major diseases of horses, cows, pigs, sheep and goats, poultry, fish, bees, crustaceans, mussels and snails.