ordinance on training qualification-based training and skills improvement for public veterinary service staff 14 pages amendment to the ordinance on epizootics 18 pages available in french german and italian 1.ordinance on training qualification-based training and skills improvement for public veterinary service staff. -this ordinance aims to regulate all training requirements for staff working in the public veterinary service. it is based on the ordinance of 1 march 1995 on the training of meat inspection officials rs 817.191.54 and will enable structural adjustments to be made so that new challenges stemming from the new law on animal welfare and the switzerland-ec bilateral agreement on trade in agricultural products can be met. 2.amendment to the ordinance on epizootics -passports for equine animals the ordinance of 18 august 2004 on veterinary medicinal products rs 812.212.27 sets forth special provisions on the use of such products for horses. in order to ensure the safety of foodstuffs equine passports must also be issued for horses destined for abattoirs. 6. description of content contd -trade in livestock the amendment of 20 june 2003 to the law on epizootics ro2003 4237 and the electronic system for monitoring movements of animals require the redefining of the provisions relating to trade in livestock. the question of the introduction of the business tax is being examined in more depth. the new regulations are therefore limited mainly to specifying the responsibilities of livestock traders from the standpoint of epizootic control. -kodavet databank this new platform for managing and communicating veterinary data should enable the cantons and the federal veterinary office to coordinate the capture transmission and analysis of data within the swiss veterinary service. the databank is currently in its pilot phase. the transmission of data the ownershi of such data and the financing of the databank will be regulated later at ordinance level. -newcastle disease provisions relating to this highly contagious avian epizootic must be amended in view of the current situation regarding avian influenza. the new text proposes inter alia measures to be taken in the event of suspected and confirmed cases of the disease which vary according to the pathogenicity of the infection the registration of all domestic poultry farms and measures in the event that newcastle disease is found in wild birds living in the wild. porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome prrs simplified import requirements for pigs established during the negotiation of the bilateral agreements mean that prrs must henceforth be defined as an epizootic to be eradicated and that a plan to control this disease must be drawn up. these measures will ensure the continued good health of the swiss swine population