About SASAS

The South African Society for Animal Science (SASAS) was formerly known as the South African Society of Animal Production (SASAP). The Society was founded on April 28, 1961. However, the idea of establishing a South African association was conceived some years before that, when the late Wim Verbeek and Danie Joubert (both Ph.D. students at the time) met in a tea room in Petty Cury Lane, Cambridge, on September 21, 1954. With the aid of the late Drs FN Bonsma and Gideon N Louw, the foursome formulated the first objectives and statutes and prepared the way that eventually lead to the foundation meeting.

True to our slogan, Experiencia docet, our mission is to advance animal science and promote viable animal production systems, while sustaining natural resources and the environment and thereby to serve in the interests of human welfare. The emphasis and focus are on relevant issues pertaining to the southern African region. The scope of our interests includes all facets of the husbandry of farm livestock species (cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, poultry, ostriches and horses) including the products derived from them (meat, milk and dairy products, wool, mohair, leather and eggs) as well as relevant aspects of aquatic and wildlife species. The main disciplines of interest are nutrition, genetics, physiology, meat science, wool science and pasture science. Sociological and managerial aspects of well-defined livestock production and farming systems are also of interest.

• The following paragraph is the abstract for the paper presented by Prof JBJ van Ryssen at the 50^th SASAS Congress in 2017. For the full paper go to SAJAS 2018, issue 5, volume 48, p801 – 807 (Van Ryssen48Issue5.pdf – SASAS) 

A glance at achievements of SASAS and animal scientists in Southern Africa over more than 50 years
With the congress theme of ‘Golden Innovations for Sustainable Animal Agriculture’, it would be opportune to look not only at innovations with present and future potential, but at those ‘golden innovations’ that have been achieved and established over more than five decades. Many of these innovations still form the basis of many aspects of present-day sustainable animal agriculture in southern Africa. This brief review covers three areas, namely the history of the South African Society for Animal Science (SASAS), achievements of animal scientists, mainly in the earlier years of the Society, and the coming of age of professionalism in the animal science profession. The South African Society of Animal Production (SASAP) was founded on 28 April 1961 in Pretoria. The name was later changed to the South African Society for Animal Science. The theme of the first congress of SASAP was ‘Efficiency in Production’, a theme that is still relevant. In 1971 the South African Journal of Animal Science (SAJAS) was initiated, and by 2017 the 47th volume has been published. A large amount of knowledge that is applicable to local conditions has accumulated and should be drawn upon to avoid ‘reinventing the wheel’. In the 1950s to 1970s, Professor Jan Bonsma developed the concept of functional efficiency of cattle and principles that focused on adaptability and sustainability. Extensive research was conducted on the feeding of urea and phosphorus to grazing livestock, leading to the practice of urea-containing rumen-stimulating winter supplementation of ruminants. South Africa was considered a world leader in the field of supplementary feeding practices. South Africa has a proud history in the discipline of animal genetics and the practical application of breeding principles to enhance livestock productivity and is in the forefront with studies on the genomics of livestock in southern Africa. SASAS was instrumental in establishing the professional status of animal scientists in South Africa. The vision is that an animal scientist should be identified as the expert in his/her field and the best qualified person to advise on matters such as animal breeding, nutrition and general management of livestock. SASAS council also acts as a mouthpiece for and custodian of animal scientists. The society protects the interests of animal scientists, is pro-active in promoting animal science, and acts as a watchdog over the professional activities of members.