Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966
This Act states, subject to a number of exceptions, that only registered members of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) can practice Veterinary Surgery... ie. A VET!
Veterinary Surgery is defined as -
".... the art and science of veterinary surgery and medicine including..."
- the diagnosis of diseases and injuries to animals
- tests performed on animals for diagnostic purposes
- the giving of advice based upon such diagnosis
- the medical or surgical treatment of animals
- the performance of surgical operations on animals
This quote is taken from the Veterinary Surgeon's Act 1966
which has been made public for the first time. If you want to read the full text, click on the link in this paragraph to go to the RCVS site. The section to look for is "Treatment of Animals by Non-Veterinary Surgeons".
The exceptions include: -
- Veterinary students and Veterinary nurses - governed by various amendments to the Veterinary Surgeons Act.
- Farriers - whilst farriers have their own Farriers Registration Acts they are also governed by the Veterinary Surgeons Act and are not allowed to perform acts of veterinary surgery.
The other exceptions (including Complementary Therapies) are governed by The Veterinary Surgery (Exemptions) Order 1962.