UAE launches new website to report animal cruelty

The online Biosecurity Early Notification System, from the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE) also enables reports of suspected cases of emerging epidemic threats and foodborne diseases to allow for early identification and verification of outbreaks.

The system features three main categories. The Animal Development and Health category allows members of the community to alert the authorities to incidents related to infectious diseases of animals and violations of animal legislation, including animal cruelty, possession of dangerous animals, incompliant veterinary products and facilities, as well as illegal animal consignments. 

#MoCCaE today unveiled the online Biosecurity Early Notification System a unified national platform that enables the public to report suspected cases of emerging epidemic threats and foodborne diseases with the aim of facilitating early identification & verification of outbreaks pic.twitter.com/wE9PWEP2V0

— MoCCAE (@MoCCaEUAE) July 17, 2019

The Agricultural Development and Health category focuses on the occurrences of agricultural pests, such as the red palm weevil, dubas bug, and stem and stalk borers.

Through the Food Safety category, the public can report unsafe food products. These include foodstuff traded or stored in unsanitary conditions, food products that are misleading to the consumer, contaminated, non-halal, or expired, as well as those that have caused food poisoning or an allergic reaction after consumption.  

Reports can be made via a government online portal, with cases followed up on by the relevant inspection team.

The platform produces investigation reports and provides updated statistics on the reported incidents to track the geographical distribution of the disease and contain it and prevent it spreading.

In addition, the system automatically generates daily reports of high-risk notifications, and circulates the latest laws and ministerial resolutions to government authorities.