The Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 (Schedule 3 Amendment) Order 1988

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order amends the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 (“the Act”) by substituting a new Schedule for Schedule 3 to the Act (article 2).

The new Schedule 3, like the old, contains exemptions from the restrictions on the practice of veterinary surgery by unqualified persons contained in Section 19(1) of the Act; Part I lists the treatment and operations which may be given or carried out by unqualified persons and Part II lists exclusions from the exemptions provided in Part I.

The changes of substance made in the new Schedule 3 are —

(1) the treatment which can be given to an animal by its owner and by members of his household is limited to minor medical treatment (paragraph 1 of Part I);

(2) the treatment which can be given to an animal used in agriculture by its owner or by a person engaged or employed in caring for any such animal is limited to any medical or minor surgical treatment (not involving entry into a body cavity) (paragraph 2 of Part I);

(3) the disbudding of a calf can now be performed by a person of the age of seventeen or over who is undergoing instruction in animal husbandry (paragraph 5 of Part I); and

(4) the spaying of a cat or dog is added to the exclusions from the provisions of Part I listed in Part II, and the limitation as to age is omitted in relation to the exclusion from Part I of the castration of a cat or a dog (paragraphs (a)(iv) and (b) of Part II).