Lead role in animal health

"New Zealand's reputation for excellent standards in animal health, welfare and trade is crucial to its ability to do business around the world," Stone, director of animal and animal product standards at MPI, says.

"Having internationally-agreed standards for trade improves access for New Zealand's animal and animal product exports to key markets. Where a country does not align to OIE's standards, exporters may have to deal with special requirements which can be costly and time consuming," Stone says.

Stone has been appointed as a permanent delegate to the OIE ensuring New Zealand is well represented in the world's key standards-setting organisations in the area.

He replaces New Zealand's long-serving delegate, Barry O'Neil, who stood down after a term as president.

Stone will take a lead role in ensuring New Zealand fulfils its international animal health obligations. These include reporting New Zealand's animal health status and harmonising import standards with OIE requirements.

New Zealand works to ensure that the standards the OIE sets provide an appropriate level of protection from risk, are unambiguous, and can be readily verified and reported against, he says.

"This allows us to align New Zealand's requirements to those international standards wherever possible. That, in turn, gives us leverage to challenge other countries' requirements that are not aligned with the OIE, and encourage them to do so."

Stone has also been appointed Secretary General for the Asia Far East and Oceania Regional Commission, which is one of the organisation's five regional commissions.

Stuart MacDiarmid, also of MPI, has been re-elected to the OIE's Terrestrial Animal Health Standards Commission, now as vice president.

The commission, one of the OIE's four specialist commissions, is responsible for drafting the standards in the OIE Code. It ensures appropriate scientific information is used to set rules for international trade to ensure protection from animal diseases.

OIE member countries choose their permanent delegates on the basis of capabilities and technical expertise in the field of veterinary services and animal disease control.