California Veterinary Law Review
Friday, September 4th, 2009Every state in the United States regulates professions to protect the general public from unscrupulous business practices. The Department of Consumer Affairs is the California agency that oversees these regulations. The Veterinary Medical Board of California supervises Doctors of Veterinary Medicine, Registered Veterinary Technicians and unregistered veterinary workers. It also sets educational standards and manages veterinary medical practice in the state. While business regulations are meant to protect the public from harm by professionals it is very difficult to see the reasoning behind some of the veterinary regulations when we are killing animals daily and using animals as laboratory specimens to test new medical sciences on. Where does harm to the public begin and end when we are harming animals everyday?
The California Business and Professions Code contains the professional codes that govern any regulated profession in California. Chapter 11 Article 2 Section 4825-4831 contains the definition of what the practice of veterinary medicine is defined as and tells us who may engage in this profession. Two sections of this code are very relevant to massage therapist who work with animals and all other complementary health care practitioners who work with animals, Section 4826 and Section 4827. 4826. Section 4826 states as follows:
A person practices veterinary medicine, surgery, and
dentistry, and the various branches thereof, when he or she does any
one of the following:
(a) Represents himself or herself as engaged in the practice of
veterinary medicine, veterinary surgery, or veterinary dentistry in
any of its branches.
(b) Diagnoses or prescribes a drug, medicine, appliance,
application, or treatment of whatever nature for the prevention, cure
or relief of a wound, fracture, bodily injury, or disease of
animals.
(c) Administers a drug, medicine, appliance, application, or
treatment of whatever nature for the prevention, cure, or relief of a
wound, fracture, bodily injury, or disease of animals, except where
the medicine, appliance, application, or treatment is administered by
a registered veterinary technician or an unregistered assistant at
the direction of and under the direct supervision of a licensed
veterinarian subject to Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 4832) or
where the drug, including, but not limited to, a drug that is a
controlled substance, is administered by a registered veterinary
technician or an unregistered assistant pursuant to Section 4836.1.
However, no person, other than a licensed veterinarian, may induce
anesthesia unless authorized by regulation of the board.
(d) Performs a surgical or dental operation upon an animal.
(e) Performs any manual procedure for the diagnosis of pregnancy,
sterility, or infertility upon livestock or Equidae.
(f) Uses any words, letters or titles in such connection or under
such circumstances as to induce the belief that the person using them
is engaged in the practice of veterinary medicine, veterinary
surgery, or veterinary dentistry. This use shall be prima facie
evidence of the intention to represent himself or herself as engaged
in the practice of veterinary medicine, veterinary surgery, or
veterinary dentistry. Section 4827 states as follows: 4827. Nothing in this chapter prohibits any person from:
(a) Practicing veterinary medicine as a bona fide owner of one’s
own animals. This exemption applies to the following:
(1) The owner’s bona fide employees.
(2) Any person assisting the owner, provided that the practice is
performed gratuitously.
(b) Lay testing of poultry by the whole blood agglutination test.
For purposes of this section, “poultry” means flocks of avian
species maintained for food production, including, but not limited
to, chickens, turkeys, and exotic fowl.
(c) Making any determination as to the status of pregnancy,
sterility, or infertility upon livestock, equine, or food animals at
the time an animal is being inseminated, providing no charge is made
for this determination.
(d) Administering sodium pentobarbital for euthanasia of sick,
injured, homeless, or unwanted domestic pets or animals without the
presence of a veterinarian when the person is an employee of an
animal control shelter and its agencies or humane society and has
received proper training in the administration of sodium
pentobarbital for these purposes.
In my next blog we will look at how we can comply with these laws and how we can work with DVM’s to provide the proven benefit that massage and other complementary health care for animals supplies.
Belinda Burnside says:
September 21st, 2009
3:34 am
This is a very interesting piece, which I am glad I found. I am moving to California and have a post grad dip in veterinary chiropractics. However, I am an (Australian) osteopath, so the AVCA (American Vet Chiro Assoc) wont let me pracitce under their banner because they only register vets or chiro’s. Aaaarghh. So frustrating.
Therefore I am eagerly awaiting your next blog.
Cheers,
Belinda.Burnside
E.C.O (Equine Canine Osteopath)
admin says:
September 21st, 2009
10:41 am
Hello Belinda. Are you a certified DVM in Australia? Are you an osteopathic doctor? One way for you to get set up to practice here might be the educational route. One of the graduates from our small animal massage program is a German DVM but the state wouldn’t let her practice in California so she ended up working at a university here teaching. She has been taking courses while teaching in veterinary physiotherapy as well since her interest lies in rehabilitation. Chiropractors in the USA have forgotten what it was like to not be able to practice legally in the US. In 1976 a chiropractor finally brought an antitrust lawsuit against the AMA that he won later in court. 33 years later the chiropractors are acting the same way as the AMA in protecting their practice. I find it interesting that the stated mission of the AVCA is to ” provide the public with unhampered access to ethical doctors trained in animal chiropractic” and yet they are apparently discriminating against you for the same reasons that the AMA and the AVMA have discriminated against them in the past. Most professional medical health organizations in this country are more concerned with protecting their area of expertise then promoting the general health of the public it seems. Their is a special provision in California’s veterinary laws that specifically targets veterinary chiropractors and requires that a DVM must be onsite supervising a veterinary chiropractor which is particularly laughable because DVM’s have no expertise in this field so how can they supervise someone when they have little or no knowledge of the scope of practice? I am wondering what the rationale for denying reciprocity is in your case? Are you a member of the AVCA? If you are you might talk to the AVCA to see if they would work with you to get the door open. Organizations generally respect their peers in the field because they want respect and recognition. I would be interested in learning more about the AVCA’s reasoning for not allowing you membership to their organization.
Hope your day is going well and that you are in good spirits. There is a solution for every problem and I am sure that their is a solution to your dilemma too.
Nick Scott
Ojai School of Massage
Huiles essentielles says:
October 5th, 2009
5:22 am
Excellent article, it’s very informative!
talktome says:
October 15th, 2009
4:12 pm
Is it illegal not to mention unethical for a vet to quote you a price and then up it when you go to retrieve your animal? And then hold your animal hostage? What recourse do pet owners have?
admin says:
October 15th, 2009
6:57 pm
I am not a lawyer so I could not give you any legal advise. I don’t know which state you live in but every state has a consumer protection department and a veterinary board. In California consumer complaints are handled by the Department of Consumer Affairs. A complaint can also be made to the California Veterinary Medical Board which is regulated by the Department of Consumer Affairs. The only recourse you have is to contact these two government agencies if this took place in California. If you live in another state you will have to go online and do a search for the consumer protection agency in your state and the veterinary medical board in your state. I hope this helps you.
Aris says:
December 23rd, 2009
11:00 pm
Is it true if you have a written disclaimer using the language from Section 4826 that you are not doing any of the statements listed, then only do acupressure or massage on meridian points with the purpose of meridian balancing only, then you are within the law?
admin says:
December 28th, 2009
3:13 pm
As long as you are not charging for a service you can so anything that you like or as long as you are a bona fide employee of the animal owner or caretaker then you can do massage legally on the animal. The veterinary laws in California are very specific about what the scope of veterinary medicine is and who can practice veterinary medicine. Any touch that is designed to treat any of the systems of the animals body would be considered a veterinary medical treatment no matter how you try to avoid the law. Even if you claim you are not doing a medical treatment if you are balancing the Ki you would be providing a medical benefit to the animal through touch. For example, trimming an animals nails is considered a medical treatment because you would be doing a surgical procedure by cutting a part of the animals body. Practically speaking though you do not see the Veterinary Board going after groomers who are doing this procedure. You do see them going after groomers who are doing teeth cleaning though. Why one and not the other? There is a good deal of money in teeth cleaning for veterinarians would be one reason and another reason would be that groomers are not trained like veterinarians to do dental procedures. Any of the professions that are regulated by the state are generally regulated because there could be harm to the public if untrained and unscrupulous practitioners are allowed to practice their trade in this state. A recent Maryland court decision is being cheered by many animal massage therapists because the court found that there is no proof of harm to the public by animal massage therapists so they do not need to be regulated in Maryland. This decision sets a legal precedent that will be used by other practitioners in other states to challenge laws that are to restrictive and outdated. There has never been any proof that animal massage hurts the public the court found and since all state laws governing professions must have proof of harm to the public, I suspect the courts in other states will mostly concur with the Maryland court decision. The Chiropractic Board in Maryland was the organization that wanted the court to issue a cease and desist order against the animal massage therapist and this is perplexing because Chiropractors had to sue the AMA to get to practice their profession. When animals are killed by the millions for our food supply I find it very curious that this killing of animals is not considered a harm to the animal but doing massage on the animal is.