A proposed amendment to the Alberta veterinary profession act has some alternative health therapists wondering about their futures.
The proposed amendment from the department of human resources and employment clarifies the role of the veterinarian without intending to take away work from other alternative care programs like dentistry, massage therapy, chiropractic treatment or other work done by farmers and technicians.
Exclusions for a variety of activities are already included in the act, said Clay Gelljus, deputy registrar for the Alberta Veterinary Association.
“The scope of practice does not change and none of the exclusions change, so farmers can continue to do everything they have done in the past,” said Gelljus.
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“There is no view to changing that.”
The changes were written following an Alberta appeal court decision in January 2004 that said lay people, not just veterinarians, could practise horse dentistry.
The proposal being circulated includes placing dentistry, massage and chiropractic care under a veterinarian’s supervision.
The government department wanted first reading of the amendment during the fall session of the Alberta legislature although Gelljus does not expect quick passage.
The current act said veterinarian duties included surgery, obstetrics, ova and embryo collection and the prescribing, compounding, dispensing and selling of drugs.
Vets are reviewing the proposed amendment and have raised concerns with the government text such as the selling of drugs since a variety of pharmaceutical products are available through farm service centres.
One Calgary area horse massage therapist said this amendment could force alternative practitioners to develop professional standards that would ultimately benefit animals.
“In some ways it is a good idea because it will more clearly define (things). A lot of people are confused about alternative therapies and how far an alternative person is allowed to go before you need a certain level of qualification,” said Tina Watkins.
“The actual changes are going to affect us but it is not at the point, at least for massage therapists, that we can’t practise anymore,” she said.
Watkins has a nine-year-old practice and four years of training. She does her own diagnoses but also works with veterinarians in a team approach to animal care.
A horse with misaligned teeth could have sore jaws and shoulders with pain spreading down to the feet. Treating that horse could involve a masseuse, dentist, farrier and vet.
She said there is resistance among some veterinarians who do not accept alternative therapies and prefer to keep all treatments within their realm. She favours consumer choice.
“Some of these things get passed through and we forget about the horse. We start thinking about ego and we forget why we are all doing this,” she said.
Todd Williams, an equine dentist for 16 years at Black Diamond, Alta., does not like the tone of the amendment because it leaves all horse care within the monopoly of veterinarians.
He calls it unnecessary bureaucracy.
“It is up to the horse owning public to be discretionary and make decisions on their animal’s welfare and their treatment,” he said.
“There is no public complaint and there is no large scale outcry that animals are being injured by non-veterinarians,” he said.
Williams works daily with veterinarians who handle medication for antibiotics or pain.
But he feels an experienced and well trained dentist can do a better job working on a horse’s teeth than a vet with a day’s training.
The proposal places under the duties of veterinarians:
- Examination, manipulating and treating for the prevention, alleviation or correction of a disease, injury, deformity, lesion or defect of an animal with or without the use of appliances, drugs or veterinary biologics.
- Prescribing, compounding, dispensing and selling a drug, biologic, appliance or treatment of whatever nature for an animal.
- Administering drugs, appliances or other treatments.
- Teaching, inspecting, regulating or conducting research in respect to veterinary medicine.
- Performing surgery on an animal.
- Performing any procedure for the diagnosis of pregnancy, sterility or infertility of an animal.
- Practising veterinary dentistry.
- Performing obstetrics and ova and embryo collection of an animal.
- Certifying the death of an animal.
