Advanced Search

Veterinary Surgeons (Jersey) Law 1999


Published: 2015-01-01

Subscribe to a Global-Regulation Premium Membership Today!

Key Benefits:

Subscribe Now for only USD$40 per month.
Veterinary Surgeons (Jersey) Law 1999

Revised Edition

02.900

Showing the law as at 1 January 2015

This is a revised edition of the law

Veterinary Surgeons (Jersey) Law 1999

Arrangement

Article

1            Interpretation

2            Right to practise veterinary surgery

3            Eligibility for recognition

4            Applications for recognition

5            Recognition of veterinary surgeons

6            List of recognized veterinary surgeons

6A            Suspension of recognition

7            Withdrawal of recognition

8            Amendment of list

9            Offences

10          Exemptions

11          Amendment of Schedule

12          Citation

SCHEDULE

EXEMPTIONS FROM RESTRICTIONS ON PRACTIsE OF VETERINARY SURGERY

PART 1

treatment and operations that may be given or carried out by unqualified persons

PART 2

Exclusions from provisions of Part 1

Supporting Documents

Endnotes

Table of Legislation History

Table of Renumbered Provisions

Table of Endnote References



Veterinary Surgeons (Jersey) Law 1999[1]

A LAW to regulate the practice of veterinary medicine and surgery in Jersey, and for connected purposes

Commencement [see endnotes]

1      Interpretation

In this Law, unless the context otherwise requires –

“authority to practise” means the registration, licence, permit or other authority by virtue of which a person is authorized to practise veterinary surgery in another country or territory;

“Minister” means the Minister for Planning and Environment;

“recognized veterinary surgeon” means a person whose name is for the time being entered, in accordance with Article 6, on the list of recognized veterinary surgeons maintained under that Article;

“veterinary surgery” means the art and science of veterinary medicine and surgery, including –

(a)     the diagnosis of diseases in animals and injuries to animals;

(b)     the performing of tests on animals for diagnostic purposes;

(c)     the giving of advice based on any such diagnosis;

(d)     the medical or surgical treatment of animals; and

(e)     the performing of surgical operations on animals.[2]

2      Right to practise veterinary surgery

No person shall –

(a)     practise veterinary surgery; or

(b)     hold himself or herself out as practising or being prepared to practise veterinary surgery,

unless the person is a recognized veterinary surgeon.

3      Eligibility for recognition[3]

(1)    A person is eligible to be a recognized veterinary surgeon if but only if he or she fulfils the requirements for registration (which may include a requirement to hold a prescribed authority to practise) prescribed by Order of the Minister.

(2)    An Order made under paragraph (1) may make such transitional arrangements and savings as the Minister thinks fit.

4      Applications for recognition[4]

(1)    An application to be recognized as a veterinary surgeon shall be made to the Royal Court.

(2)    The application shall contain such particulars and shall be accompanied by such proof as may be prescribed, by Order of the Minister, that the person fulfils the requirements for registration prescribed under Article 3.

5      Recognition of veterinary surgeons

(1)    If the Royal Court is satisfied, on an application under Article 4, that the applicant is eligible to be a recognized veterinary surgeon –

(a)     it shall grant permission for the applicant’s name to be entered on the list of recognized veterinary surgeons; and

(b)     in granting permission, it shall specify in its Act the qualifications or authority to practise by reason of which the applicant is registered in the register of veterinary surgeons.[5]

(2)    If the Royal Court is not satisfied that an applicant is eligible to be a recognized veterinary surgeon, it shall refuse to grant the application.

6      List of recognized veterinary surgeons

(1)    The Judicial Greffier shall continue to maintain under this Law the list of veterinary surgeons prepared and kept under Article 4 of the Loi (1939) sur l’exercice de la médecine et la chirurgie vétérinaires dans cette Ile,[6] and that list shall be the list of recognized veterinary surgeons for the purposes of this Law.

(2)    The Judicial Greffier shall enter on the list –

(a)     the name of each person who is granted permission by the Royal Court under Article 5 for the person’s name to be entered on the list; and

(b)     the qualifications or authority to practise, as specified in the Act of the Court, by reason of which the person is registered in the register of veterinary surgeons.[7]

(3)    Where the Royal Court –

(a)     orders under Article 7 that the name of any person be removed from the list; or

(b)     orders under Article 8 that any entry on the list be amended,

the Judicial Greffier shall amend the list accordingly.

(4)    The list shall remain posted in the Vestibule of the Royal Court House.

6A      Suspension of recognition[8]

(1)    This Article applies where a person is registered in the register of veterinary surgeons by reason of holding an authority to practise prescribed under Article 3.

(2)    The Royal Court shall order –

(a)     the suspension of the person’s recognition as a veterinary surgeon upon being satisfied that the person’s authority to practise is suspended;

(b)     the end of the suspension of the person’s recognition as a veterinary surgeon upon being satisfied that the suspension of the person’s authority to practise has ended.

(3)    An order may only be made under paragraph (2)(a) on the application of the Attorney General.

(4)    The Attorney General shall give notice of the application to the veterinary surgeon.

7      Withdrawal of recognition

(1)    The Royal Court shall order that the name of a person be removed from the list of recognized veterinary surgeons if it is satisfied that the person has ceased to satisfy the requirements for registration prescribed under Article 3.[9]

(1A)      The Court may, on the application of a person whose registration has been cancelled under paragraph (1), rescind the order made under paragraph (1) and direct that the person’s name be restored to the list, if the Court is satisfied that the qualification or authority to practise by virtue of which the person fulfilled the requirements for registration prescribed under Article 3 has been reinstated.[10]

(2)    The Royal Court may order that the name of a person be removed from the list if it is satisfied that, by reason of having been convicted of any offence, the person is no longer a fit and proper person to practise veterinary surgery in Jersey.

(3)    An order may only be made under paragraph (1) or (2) on the application of the Attorney General.

(4)    The Attorney General shall give notice of the application to the veterinary surgeon.

(5)    On the application of a recognized veterinary surgeon, the Royal Court may order that that veterinary surgeon’s name be removed from the list.

8      Amendment of list

(1)    On the application of a recognized veterinary surgeon, the Royal Court may order that the veterinary surgeon’s entry on the list of recognized veterinary surgeons be amended in respect of that veterinary surgeon’s name, qualifications or authority to practise.[11]

(2)    The Royal Court shall order that a veterinary surgeon’s name be removed from the list if it is satisfied that the person has died.[12]

9      Offences

(1)    Any person who contravenes Article 2 shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.

(2)    Any person who, for the purpose –

(a)     of obtaining permission for the person’s name to be entered on the list of recognized veterinary surgeons;

(b)     of obtaining the removal of the person’s name from the list; or

(c)     of obtaining any amendment of the person’s entry on the list,

wilfully or recklessly makes any statement that the person knows to be untrue in a material particular shall be guilty of an offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to a fine or to both.

(3)    Any person who aids, abets, counsels or procures the commission of an offence under paragraph (1) or (2) shall be liable to be dealt with, tried and punished as a principal offender.

10    Exemptions

(1)    Nothing in Article 2 or 9(1) of this Law prohibits –

(a)     a registered dentist (as defined in Article 1(1) of the Dentists (Registration) (Jersey) Law 1961[13]); or

(b)     a registered medical practitioner (as defined in Article 1(1) of the Medical Practitioners (Registration) (Jersey) Law 1960[14]),

from assisting a veterinary surgeon, at the latter’s request and under the veterinary surgeon’s supervision, in the practise of veterinary surgery or holding himself or herself out as being prepared to do so.

(2)    Nothing in Article 2 or 9(1) prohibits any person who is not a recognized veterinary surgeon from doing anything that –

(a)     is described in Part 1 of the Schedule; and

(b)     is not excluded from the application of that Part by Part 2 of that Schedule.

11    Amendment of Schedule

The Minister may by Order amend Part 1 of the Schedule.[15]

12    Citation

This Law may be cited as the Veterinary Surgeons (Jersey) Law 1999.



SCHEDULE[16]

(Articles 10(2) and 11)

EXEMPTIONS FROM RESTRICTIONS ON PRACTIsE OF VETERINARY SURGERY

PART 1

treatment and operations that 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 a household of which the owner is a member, or by a person in the employment of the owner.

2.      Any medical treatment or any minor surgery (not involving entry into a body cavity) given in either case to an animal used in agriculture (as defined in the Agriculture Act 1947 of the United Kingdom), and so given by its owner or by a person engaged or employed in caring for animals so used.

3.      The rendering in an emergency of first aid for the purpose of saving life or relieving pain or suffering.

4.      The performance by any person who has attained the age of 18 years of either of the following operations, that is to say –

(a)     the docking, by means of an elastrator, of the tail of a lamb that has not reached the age of 1 week; and

(b)     the amputation of the dew claws of a dog that has not reached the age of 72 hours.

5.      The performance, by any person who has attained the age of 17 years and is a veterinary student or a student veterinary nurse under instruction, or is undergoing instruction in animal husbandry, of –

(a)     any operation mentioned in paragraph 4(a) or (b) of this Part; or

(b)     the castration of a male animal or the caponizing of an animal,

if the instruction is given by a recognized veterinary surgeon and the operation is performed under the veterinary surgeon’s direct personal supervision.

6.

(1)    Any medical treatment or any minor surgery (not involving entry into a body cavity) to a companion animal by a veterinary nurse if the following conditions are complied with, that is to say –

(a)     the companion animal is, for the time being, under the care of a recognized veterinary surgeon and the medical treatment or minor surgery is carried out by the veterinary nurse at the veterinary surgeon’s direction;

(b)     the recognized veterinary surgeon is the employer or is acting on behalf of the employer of the veterinary nurse; and

(c)     the recognized 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) –

(a)     “companion animal” means an animal kept as a pet or for companionship, not being a horse, pony, ass or mule, nor an animal used in agriculture (as defined in the Agriculture Act 1947 of the United Kingdom); and

(b)     “veterinary nurse” means a nurse whose name is entered in the register of veterinary nurses maintained by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.

7.      Any medical treatment or any minor surgery (not involving entry into a body cavity) to any animal by a student veterinary nurse if –

(a)     the animal is, for the time being, under the care of a recognized veterinary surgeon and the medical treatment or minor surgery is carried out by the student veterinary nurse at the veterinary surgeon’s direction and in the course of the student veterinary nurse’s training;

(b)     the treatment or surgery is supervised by a recognized veterinary surgeon or veterinary nurse and, in the case of surgery, the supervision is direct, continuous and personal; and

(c)     the recognized veterinary surgeon is the employer or is acting on behalf of the employer of the student veterinary nurse.

In this paragraph –

“student veterinary nurse” means a person undergoing training as a veterinary nurse at an approved training and assessment centre or a veterinary practice approved by such a centre; and

“approved training and assessment centre” means a centre approved by the Council of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons of the United Kingdom for the purpose of training and assessing student veterinary nurses.

8.

(1)    The artificial insemination of a domestic animal by a person approved in writing by the Veterinary Officer, where the insemination is carried out in accordance with that approval.

(2)    In this paragraph –

“domestic animal” has the same meaning as in the Artificial Insemination of Domestic Animals (Jersey) Law 1952[17];

“Veterinary Officer” has the meaning given to that expression by Article 2(1) of the Diseases of Animals (Jersey) Law 1956[18].

9.      A procedure to transfer, or to assist in transferring, an embryo between cattle, if that procedure is carried out –

(a)     by a person approved in writing by the Veterinary Officer (as defined in paragraph 8); and

(b)     in accordance with that approval.

10.

(1)    The implantation into an animal of a transponder, if that procedure is carried out –

(a)     by a veterinary nurse acting under the direction of a recognized veterinary surgeon; or

(b)     by a person approved in writing by the Veterinary Officer (as defined in paragraph 8) in accordance with that approval.

(2)    In this paragraph –

“transponder” means a read-only passive radio frequency identification device;

“veterinary nurse” has the meaning given by paragraph 6(2)(b).

PART 2

Exclusions from provisions of Part 1

1.      Paragraph 2 of Part 1 does not apply –

(a)     to a laparotomy; or

(b)     to anything done for reward.

2.      Part 1 does not apply to –

(a)     the castration of a male animal that is –

(i)     a horse, pony, ass or mule,

(ii)    a bull, boar or goat that has in any such case reached the age of 2 months,

(iii)   a ram that has reached the age of 3 months, or

(iv)   a cat or dog;

(b)     the spaying of a cat or dog;

(c)     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;

(d)     the desnooding of a turkey that has reached the age of 21 days;

(e)     the removal of the combs of any poultry that have reached the age of 72 hours;

(f)     the cutting of the toes of a domestic fowl or turkey that has reached the age of 72 hours;

(g)     the performance of a vasectomy or the carrying out of electro-ejaculation on any animal or bird kept for production of food, wool, skin or fur or for use in the farming of land;

(h)     the removal of the supernumerary teats of a calf that has reached the age of 3 months;

(i)     the dehorning or disbudding of a sheep or goat (other than the trimming of the insensitive tip of an ingrowing horn that, if left untreated, could cause pain or distress); or

(j)     the extraction of the teeth of an animal.



Endnotes

Table of Legislation History



Legislation



Year and No



Commencement



Veterinary Surgeons (Jersey) Law 1999



L.6/1999



16 April 1999



Veterinary Surgeons (Jersey) Order 2003



R&O.45/2003



23 May 2003



States of Jersey (Amendments and Construction Provisions No. 4) (Jersey) Regulations 2005



R&O.44/2005



9 December 2005



Veterinary Surgeons (Jersey) Order 2008



R&O.93/2008



4 August 2008



Veterinary Surgeons (No. 2) (Jersey) Order 2008



R&O.128/2008



13 October 2008



Veterinary Surgeons (Amendment) (Jersey) Law 2012



L.25/2012



27 August 2012



Pet Travel Scheme (Amendment) (Jersey) Regulations 2014



R&O.185/2014



29 December 2014



Table of Renumbered Provisions



Original



Current



12



spent, omitted from this revised edition



13



12



Schedule, Part I



Schedule, Part 1



Part II



Part 2



Table of Endnote References



[1]



This Law has been amended by the States of Jersey (Amendments and Construction Provisions No. 4) (Jersey) Regulations 2005. The amendments replace all references to a Committee of the States of Jersey with a reference to a Minister of the States of Jersey, and remove and add defined terms appropriately, consequentially upon the move from a committee system of government to a ministerial system of government



[2] Article 1



amended by L.25/2012



[3] Article 3



substituted by L.25/2012



[4] Article 4



substituted by L.25/2012



[5] Article 5(1)



amended by L.25/2012



[6]



L.2/1939



[7] Article 6(2)



amended by L.25/2012



[8] Article 6A



inserted by L.25/2012



[9] Article 7(1)



substituted by L.25/2012



[10] Article 7(1A)



inserted by L.25/2012



[11] Article 8(1)



amended by L.25/2012



[12] Article 8(2)



added by L.25/2012



[13]



chapter 20.100



[14]



chapter 20.600



[15] Article 11



amended by L.25/2012



[16] Schedule



amended by R&O.45/2003, R&O.93/2008, R&O.128/2008, R&O.185/2014



[17]



chapter 01.480



[18]



chapter 02.400