Objectives of the Law. This Law has the following objectives:

a) Preserve, promote, protect and reestablish animal health, with the purpose of providing a greater welfare and productivity, in harmony with the environment.

b) Provide the consumer with the sanitary safety of food of animal origin and, thus, the protection of human health.

c) Regulate and control sanitary security and safety of food of animal origin in an integrated manner, throughout the food production chain.

d) Execute the necessary measures for the veterinary control of Zoonosis.

e) Oversee and regulate the use and exchange of animals, their products and byproducts.

f) Regulate and supervise the use and exchange of animal origin genetic material, as well as determine the sanitary risk that such material could represent to veterinary or animal public health.

g) Register, regulate and supervise veterinary medicines and food for animal consumption, so that they do not represent a risk to veterinary public health, animal health and the environment.

h) To seek the respect and implementation of the different international agreements, subscribed by Costa Rica in matter of competition, in accordance with the purposes and objectives of this Law.

i) Establish the mechanisms of coordination between the different national institutions and the international organizations involved with the matters of this Law.

j) Establish the mechanisms of participation of organized groups and users of services provided by SENASA in the plans and actions of its competence.

Purpose. The purpose of the present Law is to regulate animal health, veterinary public health and the functioning of National Service of Animal Health (SENASA, for its Spanish Acronym).