The DVM magazine, May 2007 (www.dvmnews.com), reported on two bills in Colorado that were very similar, with one having the support and one the opposition of the CVMA (Colorado Veterinary Medical Association - www.colovma.com).
First they reported that the Colorado Senate Agriculture Committee voted 4-3 against the HB 1296 by CAAOR (Colorado Alliance of Animals Owner Rights - www.caaor.org) to allow pet owners to employ unlicensed practitioners to treat, care for, train or assist their animals. Opponents said the bill was unnecessary as the services mentioned were not in the veterinary practice act anyway. Ralph Johnson, executive director of CVMA said, "Veterinarians do work with non-veterinary medicine providers with whom they have a relationship, trust and confidence...The alliance folks have painted a somewhat drastic picture and accused veterinary medicine of being a restrictive marketplace...flinging open the doors to any self-proclaimed, unregulated, potentially undereducated provider...has significant complications for animal health and public health." LIsa Speaker, CAAOR president, is working to provide more veterinary supervision and hope for collaboration on the next bill.
The CVMA was bitterly opposed to HB 1296, but supported HB 1126 which was approved by the Senate and allows licensed physical therapists to work on animals without veterinary supervision. One key difference, that hopefully will be included in future attempts for this bill, is that HB 1126 did include a proviso that a veterinarian must recommend the treatment. I think this is important for all lay practitioners to have before starting treatment.
But some veterinarians refuse to recommend alternative supportive care. In that case, maybe the bill could include seeing a copy of a recent veterinary visit that says the animal is in good health. For metropolitan areas it would be easy to find a veterinarian who will work with alternative options, but in some areas there are not even veterinarians (see another article about NY State on this problem).
Readers, what do you think? Please click on the button below to make a comment.
Recent Comments