International Customs Day & Week 2022

NAME OF FEATURE | THE GLEANER | SUNDAY, JANUARY 30, 2022 28 T HE VETERINARY Services Division (VSD) in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries is the national veterinary authority with overall responsibility for animal health and welfare, with an equally central role in ensuring food safety. The scope of the VSD’s regulatory and operational responsibilities is extensive, including farm disease prevention, control, and surveil- lance; traceability of animals and animal products; oversight during the processing and distribution of foods of animal origin for export; and ensuring the safe international trade of live animals and animal products. The authority of the VSD to provide effective control meas- ures to protect animal and public health is established in veterinary legislation, specifically The Animals (Disease and Importation) Act of 1948. This legislation, at a minimum, through the issuance of veterinary import permits, provides importers and their suppliers with the neces- sary requirements for the impor- tation of live animals and animal The Veterinary Services Division remaining resilient while navigating global threats Destruction of copyright-infringing goods Attorney Mikhail Jackson (right) of the law firm Livingston Alexander and Levy, which represents footwear brands Nike, Puma and others, discusses the fraudulent features of counterfeit sneakers with Director of the Jamaica Customs Agency’s (JCA) Contraband Enforcement Team, Albert Anderson (second left). Also participating in the discussion (from left) are Supervisor, Contraband Enforcement Team, JCA, Damaly Thomas; and Deputy Director/ Legal Counsel, Jamaica Intellectual Property Office (JIPO), Dr Marcus Goffe. The occasion was the destruction of copyright infringing goods at the ports in Kingston, in June and July 2021. CUSTOMS WEEK