Doctors and Dentists may now carry out certain Veterinary procedures

On 27 June 2017, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed, signed into law the Veterinary Practice Act 2005 (Treatment by non-registered person) Regulations 2017 (the “Regulations”). The Regulations provide that a veterinary practitioner may, in respect of an animal under his or her care, request a registered medical practitioner or a registered dentist to carry out a procedure on the animal where the following applies: If the procedure is unusu...On 27 June 2017, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed, signed into law the Veterinary Practice Act 2005 (Treatment by non-registered person) Regulations 2017 (the “Regulations”). The Regulations provide that a veterinary practitioner may, in respect of an animal under his or her care, request a registered medical practitioner or a registered dentist to carry out a procedure on the animal where the following applies:

1. If the procedure is unusually complex;
2. If that registered medical practitioner or dentist has a high level of expertise in the field of medicine or dentistry related to the procedure; and,
3. There is no veterinary practitioner with the requisite skill and experience available to carry out the procedure.

The Regulations state that such a procedure shall be carried out in the presence of the veterinary practitioner who requested the procedure. The Regulations can be accessed here.