) Introduction 



Welcome to the National Veterinary Accreditation Program (NVAP). Thank you 

 for participating in the program and becoming a U.S. Department of Agriculture 

 (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) accredited 

 veterinarian. This reference manual is your guide to the NVAP and contains 

 information vital to understanding and performing your responsibilities as an 

 accredited veterinarian, including: 



• Animal identification; 



• Disease prevention, control, and eradication; 



• Regulatory immunization; 



• Regulations for intrastate, interstate, and international shipment of animals and 

 animal byproducts; and 



• Instructions on the proper selection, completion, and submission of 

 regulatory forms. 



As an accredited veterinarian, you are the first line of defense in ensuring the health 

 of this Nation's livestock and poultry. APHIS is dependent on accredited veterinarians 

 for carrying out many of the programs and services designed to protect public 

 health and safeguard animal health. You and other accredited veterinarians share in 

 a partnership with APHIS, State animal health officials, and the animal agriculture 

 industry. The professional ethic is the basis for trust between veterinarians and their 

 clients and also between veterinarians and their peers working in animal health and 

 regulatory medicine. 



As an accredited veterinarian, you must perform all accreditation work following 

 State and Federal laws and regulations and approved procedures. Included in this 

 guide are the Standards for Accredited Veterinarians from the Code of Federal 

 Regulations (CFR) (appendix A). By agreeing to participate in the Accreditation 

 Program, you have accepted the responsibility for knowing these and other 

 appropriate Federal and State regulations. 



It is important to be sure that all APHIS-accredited veterinarians are performing 

 their duties in accordance with current USDA regulations. Within USDA-APHIS, 

 Investigative and Enforcement Services (lES) provides support to all the agency's 

 program units, including Veterinary Services (VS). lES investigators look into 

 allegations that an accredited veterinarian did not abide by the accreditation 

 standards as explained in this manual. Further details about lES' work and your 

 role in the investigative process are found in the section entitled "Compliance 

 and Regulations." 



1-1 



