On January 25th 1924, 28 countries, Portugal and Spain among them, signed an international collaboration agreement in Paris aimed at combatting infectious animal diseases, leading to the founding of the International Office of Epizootic diseases (OIE). While the convention was a response to the Rinderpest plague, the crisis demonstrated that animal diseases posed a threat to food security and global economic growth, and it was clear that the world community had to tackle them in a coordinated way.
In May 2023 the Office adopted the common name World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), and now has 183 member countries.
Correios de Portugal – CTT marked this centenary by releasing a series of variable value stamps or ‘Etiquetas de Franquia Automática’ which will be issued over several months from its Newvision postal kiosks. The three designs are by Ana Salomé Lourenço, graphic designer at the Direção Geral de Alimentação e Veterinária (DGAV) and depict some important milestones, such as the founding of the Organisation in 1924, the establishment of recognised sanitary standards in international trade, and the participation in the ‘One Health’ joint action plan that reinforces the idea of the interdependence between human and animal health.
The rolls of self-adhesive labels printed in offset were manufactured by the Portuguese company Copidata, S.A. The size of the label is 55 x 30 mm and all labels have a preprinted control number on the back of the silicone coated backing paper showing the number of stamps issued from that roll.
The ‘100 years of the World Organisation of Animal Health’ series was progressively available from May 21st 2024, from the approximately 40 Newvision postal kiosks installed at CTT post offices throughout the country.
The basic sets, also sold by the philatelic service, are made up of the main postal rates programmed at the kiosks on the date of issue. The four values are for non-priority mail or Correio Normal (0.65 – 1.03 – 1.20 – 1.30 €) and a further two for priority mail or CORREIO AZUL (0.90 – 4.55 €), as per the table below.
Stamps with other postal tariffs, corresponding to the different tariff zones and the first seven weight steps, are available from the Newvision E-Post 2000 M postal kiosks, with the larger colour screen.
Official / Pictorial first day cover with the three stamp designs, and Lisbon special postmark
Official / Pictorial first day cover with the four-values set for normal mail, on one of the designs, and special postmark
(English edition rewritten by J. Gareze – August 2024)
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