Unless the context otherwise indicates, words and phrases in these Rules shall have the meaning assigned thereto in the Act, and:

“Act”

means the Veterinary and Para-Veterinary Professions Act, 1982, Act No.19 of 1982 as amended, and the regulations made there under;

“animal”

means any living organism, except humans, having sensation and the power of voluntary movement and requiring oxygen and organic nutrients for its existence;

“animal transport vehicle”

means a vehicle equipped to safely transport animals;

“authorised person”

means a person authorised in terms of the Act, Section 23(1)(c);

“client”

means a person who uses the professional services of a veterinarian or paraveterinary professional;

“complaint”

means a complaint, charge or allegation of unprofessional, improper or disgraceful conduct against a respondent;

“consultancy”

means an interaction between the animal health technician and an owner, farmer, client or group of clients where animals may be examined away from a registered physical facility, treatment protocols drawn up, stock remedies recommended and/or provided, and professional advice given regarding primary animal health care, production and veterinary extension;

“consultation”

means an interaction between an animal health technician and an owner in accordance with the ‘animal health technician-client-patient relationship’ concerning an animal patient, where the patient is examined or assessed for a fee;

“impairment”

means such a level of physical or mental impairment, which includes substance abuse or addiction, that may affect the practise of the animal health technician to such an extent that the welfare of the patients, the interest of a client and/or the image of the profession may be compromised;

“Medicines Act”

means the Medicines and Related Substances Act, 1965, Act No.101 of 1965;

“medicines”

in these rules means scheduled medicine scheduled as schedule 1 and above as defined by the Medicines Act;

“mobile, or field animal service”

means a primary animal health care facility, which is registered with the Council in the name of the principal of the base primary animal health care facility from which it operates;

“owner”

means any person over the legal age having the possession, charge, custody or control of an animal for which para-veterinary services are rendered, or the owner’s representative;

“PAHC facility”

means a primary animal health care facility registered with Council from where an animal health technician may render services in accordance with Rule 2(2) & (3) for own account and which complies with the minimum standards;

“patient”

means an individual animal or group of animals as a unit examined and/or treated;

“primary animal health care”

means the following services rendered by an animal health technician to an animal owner/handler:

“principal”

means the para-veterinary professional in whose name the PAHC facility is registered and who takes responsibility for minimum standards of the facility, or his/her appointed agent who must be a registered para-veterinary professional;

“registered facility”

means a para-veterinary facility which complies with the minimum standards, and is registered with Council;

“registered person”

means a person registered in terms of the Act;

“sample”

refers to a subset, for example collecting whole blood specimens from 10 animals from a group of 100 would constitute a sample;

“scope of practise”

means the scope of work or certain aspects thereof which a veterinary or para-veterinary professional may perform by law, and which is stipulated in the rules of that profession and also thus defines the minimum standards of the PAHC facility that will be registered for that purpose;

“Stock Remedy Act”

means the Fertilizers, Farm Feeds, Agricultural Remedies and Stock Remedies Act 1947, Act No. 36 of 1947, or any relevant Act it may be substituted with;

“stock remedy”

means a stock remedy as defined in the Fertilizers, Farm Feeds, Agricultural Remedies and Stock Remedies Act 1947, Act No. 36 of 1947;

“supervision”

means, unless otherwise indicated:

“direct supervision” means that the animal health technician receives instructions from a person registered to practice a veterinary profession, within his/her scope of practice and carries out the instructions in that person’s presence provided that the person gives the animal health technician and the patient, his/her undivided attention; and

“indirect supervision” means that the animal health technician receives written or verbal instructions, within his/her scope of practice, from a person registered to practice a veterinary profession, and carries out the instructions while the registered veterinary professional need not be on the premises where professional services are being rendered, but must be readily available by telephone or some other form of communication and assume responsibility for the veterinary services given to the patient or services rendered by a person working under his/her direction;

“unprofessional conduct”

means unprofessional, dishonourable or unworthy conduct as set out in Rule 4; and

"veterinary professional or veterinarian"

means a person registered to practise the veterinary profession as a veterinarian or veterinary specialist.