Veterinary Surgeons Act 2005
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AT 1 of 2005
VETERINARY SURGEONS ACT 2005
Veterinary Surgeons Act 2005 Index
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VETERINARY SURGEONS ACT 2005
Index Section Page
1 Restriction of practice of veterinary surgery by unqualified persons ..................... 5
2 Exemptions ...................................................................................................................... 5
3 Use of descriptions as to professional status .............................................................. 6
4 Evidence of registration ................................................................................................. 6
5 Notice of death of veterinary surgeons ....................................................................... 7
6 Orders ............................................................................................................................... 7
7 Veterinary surgery: definition ...................................................................................... 7
8 Interpretation ................................................................................................................... 7
9 Amendments and repeals .............................................................................................. 8
10 Short title and commencement ..................................................................................... 8
SCHEDULE 1 9
EXEMPTIONS FROM RESTRICTIONS ON PRACTICE OF VETERINARY
SURGERY 9
SCHEDULE 2 12
AMENDMENT OF ENACTMENTS 12
SCHEDULE 3 12
REPEAL OF ENACTMENTS 12
ENDNOTES 13
TABLE OF LEGISLATION HISTORY 13
TABLE OF RENUMBERED PROVISIONS 13
TABLE OF ENDNOTE REFERENCES 13
Veterinary Surgeons Act 2005 Section 1
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VETERINARY SURGEONS ACT 2005
Received Royal Assent: 15 March 2005
Announced to Tynwald: 15 March 2005
Commenced: 20 September 2005
AN ACT
to make provision for restricting the practice of veterinary surgery by
unqualified persons; and for connected purposes.
1 Restriction of practice of veterinary surgery by unqualified persons
(1) No individual shall practise, or hold himself or herself out as practising,
or as being prepared to practise, veterinary surgery unless that
individual is registered in the Register of Veterinary Surgeons (in this
Act a registered individual is referred to as a “veterinary surgeon
”).
(2) Any individual who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an
offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £5,000
or to custody for a term not exceeding 3 months, or to both.
(3) This section is subject to section 2 and Schedule 1.
2 Exemptions
(1) Section 1 does not prohibit —
(a) the doing of anything specified in Part I of Schedule 1 and not
excluded by Part II of that Schedule;
(b) the carrying out or performance of any minor treatment, test or
operation specified in an order made by the Department, so long
as any conditions specified in the order are complied with;
(c) the carrying out or performance of any treatment, test or
operation by a registered medical practitioner or a registered
dentist within the meaning of the Dental Act 1985 at the request of
a veterinary surgeon;1
(d) the carrying out of any procedure duly authorised under Part II of
the Cruelty to Animals Act 1997;
Section 3 Veterinary Surgeons Act 2005
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(e) the performance by a registered medical professional of an
operation on an animal for the purpose of removing an organ or
tissue for use in the treatment of human beings.2
(2) The Department may by order amend Schedule 1.
(3) The Department may by order exempt from section 1 the carrying out or
performance of any veterinary treatment, test or operation prescribed by
the order, subject to compliance with prescribed conditions, by students
of veterinary surgery of any prescribed class.
3 Use of descriptions as to professional status
(1) If any individual who is not for the time being a veterinary surgeon,
takes or uses the title of veterinary surgeon or any name, title, addition,
or description calculated to lead to the belief that the individual is a
veterinary surgeon, that individual shall be guilty of an offence.
(2) Without prejudice to subsection (1), if any person uses any description in
connection with —
(a) any business carried on by that person, or
(b) any premises at which such a business is carried on,
being in either case a description calculated to lead to the belief that the
person, or any individual acting for the purposes of the business, possess
any veterinary qualifications which they do not in fact possess, that
person shall be guilty of an offence.
(3) Any person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable on
summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £5,000 or to custody for a
term not exceeding 3 months, or to both.
4 Evidence of registration
(1) A copy of the Register of Veterinary Surgeons for the time being
purporting to be printed and published in pursuance of the U.K. Act
shall be evidence in all cases (until the contrary be made to appear) that
the individuals named in the copy are on the Register of Veterinary
Surgeons.
(2) The absence of the name of any individual from such a copy shall be
evidence (until the contrary be made to appear) that such individual is
not on the Register.
(3) In the case of any person whose name does not appear in such a copy, a
certified copy under the hand of the Registrar of the Royal College of
Veterinary Surgeons of the entry of the name of such person in the said
Register, shall be evidence that such person is on the said Register.
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5 Notice of death of veterinary surgeons
(1) A registrar of deaths, on receiving notice of the death of any veterinary
surgeon shall as soon as practicable transmit by post to the Department a
certificate of the death, with the particulars of time and place of death.
(2) On receipt of a certificate under subsection (1), the Department shall —
(a) notify the Registrar of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons;
and
(b) reimburse the registrar of deaths for the cost of such certificate
and transmission.
6 Orders
(1) The Department shall consult with the Royal College of Veterinary
Surgeons before making any order under this Act.
(2) Orders under this Act shall be laid before Tynwald as soon as practicable
after they are made, and if Tynwald at the sitting at which the orders are
laid or at the next following sitting fails to approve them, the orders shall
cease to have effect.
(3) This section does not apply in respect of an order under section 10(2).
7 Veterinary surgery: definition
(1) In this Act, “veterinary surgery
” means, subject to subsection (2), the art
and science of veterinary surgery and medicine and, without prejudice to
the generality of the foregoing, includes —
(a) the diagnosis of diseases in, and injuries to, animals including
tests performed on animals for diagnostic purposes;
(b) the giving of advice based upon such diagnosis;
(c) the medical or surgical treatment of animals; and
(d) the performance of surgical operations on animals.
(2) “Veterinary surgery
” does not include —
(i) the doing of anything specified in Part I of Schedule 1 and
not excluded by Part II of that Schedule;
(ii) any minor treatment, test or operation specified in an order
made by the Department under section 2(1)(b), so long as
any conditions specified in the order are complied with;
(iii) any treatment, test, operation or procedure specified in
section 2(1)(c) to (e).
8 Interpretation
In this Act —
Section 9 Veterinary Surgeons Act 2005
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“animals
” means all species other than man;
“the Department
” means the Department of Environment, Food and
Agriculture;3
“prescribed
” means prescribed by the Department;
“Register of Veterinary Surgeons
” means the register of veterinary surgeons
kept under the U.K. Act;
“U.K. Act
” means the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 (an Act of Parliament) as
that Act has effect from time to time and includes any instrument of a
legislative character that re-enacts or replaces that Act with or without
amendments;
“veterinary surgeon
” has the meaning given by section 1(1).
9 Amendments and repeals
(1) The enactments specified in Schedule 2 are amended in accordance with
that Schedule.
(2) The enactments mentioned in column 1 of Schedule 3 are repealed to the
extent specified in column 3 of that Schedule.
10 Short title and commencement
(1) This Act may be cited as the Veterinary Surgeons Act 2005.
(2) This Act shall come into force on such day as the Department may by
order appoint and different days may be so appointed for different
provisions and for different purposes.4
Veterinary Surgeons Act 2005 Schedule 1
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SCHEDULE 1
EXEMPTIONS FROM RESTRICTIONS ON PRACTICE OF
VETERINARY SURGERY
Sections 1(3) and 2(1)(a)
PART I - TREATMENT OR OPERATIONS WHICH MAY BE GIVEN
OR CARRIED OUT BY UNQUALIFIED PERSONS
1. Any minor medical treatment given to an animal by its owner, by another
member of the household of which the owner is a member or by a person in the
employment of the owner.
2. (1) Any medical treatment or any minor surgery (not involving entry into a
body cavity) given, otherwise than for reward, to any animal to which this paragraph
applies by the owner of the animal or by a person engaged or employed in caring for
the animal.
(2) This paragraph applies to —
(a) animals kept for the production of food, wool, skin or fur, or for
use in the farming of land; and
(b) horses.
3. The rendering in an emergency of first aid for the purpose of saving life or
relieving pain or suffering.
4. (1) The performance by any person of or over the age of 18 of any of the
following operations, that is to say —
(a) the castration of male livestock by any means;
(b) the docking of the tail of a lamb;
(c) the amputation of the dew claws of a dog before its eyes are open.
(2) In sub-paragraph (1)(a), “livestock” means any animal kept for the
production of food, wool, skin or fur, or for use in the farming of land.
5. (1) The performance, by any person of the age of 17 undergoing instruction
in animal husbandry, of any operation mentioned in paragraph 4(1)(a) or (b) and the
disbudding of a calf by any such person or by a person of or over the age of 18
undergoing such instruction, if, in each case, either of the following conditions is
complied with —
(a) the instruction in animal husbandry is given by a veterinary
surgeon and the operation is performed under his or her direct
personal supervision;
Schedule 1
Veterinary Surgeons Act 2005
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(b) the instruction in animal husbandry is given under the direction
of a recognised institution and the operation is performed under
the direct personal supervision of a person appointed by the
institution.
(2) In sub-paragraph (1), “recognised institution” means the Isle of Man
College when acting jointly with, or on behalf of, the Department in providing any
instruction or course of instruction.
6. (1) Any medical treatment or any minor surgery (not involving entry into a
body cavity) to any animal by a veterinary nurse if the following conditions are
complied with —
(a) the animal is, for the time being, under the care of a veterinary
surgeon and the medical treatment or minor surgery is carried out
by the veterinary nurse at his or her direction;
(b) the veterinary surgeon is the employer or is acting on behalf of the
employer of the veterinary nurse; and
(c) the veterinary surgeon directing the medical treatment or minor
surgery is satisfied that the veterinary nurse is qualified to carry
out the treatment or surgery.
(2) In sub-paragraph (1), “veterinary nurse” means a nurse whose name is
entered in the list of veterinary nurses maintained by the Royal College of Veterinary
Surgeons.
7. (1) Any medical treatment or any minor surgery (not involving entry into a
body cavity) to any animal by a student veterinary nurse if the following conditions are
complied with —
(a) the animal is, for the time being, under the care of a veterinary
surgeon and the medical treatment or minor surgery is carried out
by the student veterinary nurse at his or her direction and in the
course of the student veterinary nurse’s training;
(b) the treatment or surgery is supervised by a veterinary surgeon or
veterinary nurse and, in the case of surgery, the supervision is
direct, continuous and personal; and
(c) the veterinary surgeon is the employer or is acting on behalf of the
employer of the student veterinary nurse.
(2) In this paragraph —
“approved training and assessment centre” means a centre approved by the
Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons for the purpose of training and
assessing student veterinary nurses;
“student veterinary nurse” means a person enrolled under bye-laws made by
the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons for the purpose of undergoing
training as a veterinary nurse at an approved training and assessment
centre or a veterinary practice approved by such a centre;
Veterinary Surgeons Act 2005 Schedule 1
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“veterinary nurse” means a nurse whose name is entered in the list of veterinary
nurses maintained by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.
PART II – EXCLUSIONS FROM PROVISIONS OF PART I
Nothing in section 2(1)(a) shall authorise —
(a) the castration of a male animal being —
(i) a horse, pony, ass or mule,
(ii) a bull, boar or goat which has reached the age of 2 months,
(iii) a ram which has reached the age of 3 months, or
(iv) a cat or dog;
(b) the removal (otherwise than in an emergency for the purpose of
saving life or relieving pain or suffering) of any part of the antlers
of a deer before the velvet of the antlers is frayed and the greater
part of it has been shed;
(c) the desnooding of a turkey which has reached the age of 21 days;
(d) the removal of the combs of any poultry which have reached the
age of 72 hours;
(e) the cutting of the toes of a domestic fowl or turkey which has
reached the age of 72 hours;
(f) the performance of a vasectomy or the carrying out of electro-
ejaculation on any animal kept for the production of food, wool,
skin or fur, or for use in the farming of land;
(g) the removal of the supernumerary teats of a calf which has
reached the age of 3 months;
(h) the dehorning or disbudding of a sheep or goat, except the
trimming of the insensitive tip of an ingrowing horn which, if left
untreated, could cause pain or distress; or
(i) the docking of lambs’ tails after their first week of life.
Schedule 2
Veterinary Surgeons Act 2005
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SCHEDULE 2
AMENDMENT OF ENACTMENTS
Section 9(1)
[Sch 2 amends the following Acts —
Riding Establishments (Inspection) Act 1968 q.v.
Animal Boarding Establishments (Isle of Man) Act 1973 q.v.
Misuse of Drugs Act 1976 q.v.
Poisons Act 1979 q.v.
Jury Act 1980 q.v.
Breeding of Dogs and Cats Act 1981 q.v.
Statute Law Revision Act 1986 q.v.
Wildlife Act 1990 q.v.
Cruelty to Animals Act 1997 q.v.
Medicines Act 2003 q.v.]
SCHEDULE 3
REPEAL OF ENACTMENTS
Section 9(2)
[Sch 3 repeals the following Act wholly —
Veterinary Surgeons Act 1949
and the following Acts in part —
Riding Establishments (Inspection) Act 1968
Animal Boarding Establishments (Isle of Man) Act 1973
Misuse of Drugs Act 1976
Poisons Act 1979
Jury Act 1980
Breeding of Dogs and Cats Act 1981
Statute Law Revision Act 1986
Wildlife Act 1990
Cruelty to Animals Act 1997
Medicines Act 2003.]
Veterinary Surgeons Act 2005 Endnotes
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ENDNOTES
Table of Legislation History
Legislation Year and No Commencement
Table of Renumbered Provisions
Original Current
Table of Endnote References
1
Para (c) amended by Health Care Professionals Act 2014 s 14. 2
Para (e) amended by Health Care Professionals Act 2014 s 14. 3
Definition of “the Department” substituted by SD155/10 Sch 3. 4
ADO (whole Act) 20/9/2005 (SD688/05).
