By FAY SIMMONS

Tribune Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

Bahamian vets yesterday voiced optimism that the industry’s new proposed regulatory regime will curb unlicensed operators from performing illegal procedures unchecked on animals.

Dr Deandrea Delancey-Milford, the Veterinary Medical Association of the Bahamas (VMAD) president, told Tribune Business her members are “happy” the long-awaited Veterinary Bill was tabled in Parliament on Wednesday. She said the Association’s legislative committee will meet to review the Bill next week and provide information to all members shortly afterwards.

“We haven’t reviewed it yet as the legislative committee, so once we review that next week, then we’ll send it to the members. They are aware that it was tabled,” said Dr Delancey-Milford.

“We are happy. Everything is happening fast, but we are happy because it took such a long time to get to this point. This is the furthest that it has been. Everyone is excited that it is happening fast, but we do want to comb through it, make sure that it is something that we all agree on and that we give our blessing as an Association to move forward with.”

Dr Delancey-Milford explained the new legislation will give the profession more “teeth” and establish a Veterinary Council. It also lists services that only veterinarians and veterinary technicians are allowed to conduct.

“Right now, we already have legislation in place, the Animal Health and Protection Act. However, the Veterinary Medicine Bill is specific for veterinarians, and so it lists out having a Veterinary Council, and licensed para-professionals as well,” explained Dr Delancey-Milford.

“So not just veterinarians, but vet techs. You have persons who go to school and they become vet techs, and so they come back and they’re going to be officially registered as well. It has a list of veterinary services that veterinarians are allowed to do, and the list of services that para-professionals are allowed to do.

“It’s just more streamlined, and it will definitely give us more teeth now, because for a long time the profession seemed to be getting out of our hands. A lot of us get into this profession because we’re passionate about it, but it seems like it was being taken away from us and we didn’t have the legal backing or the legislative framework in order to be able to have it as our own.

“Every other profession has it. Dentists have it, medical doctors have it, nurses have it, so now we have something.” Dr Basil Sands, head of Central Animal Hospital, said veterinarians have been advocating for the Bill for years as unlicensed operators were performing illegal procedures on animals unchecked.

“We have been agitating for this Veterinary Medicine Bill for years, and our concern was that we had a lot of lay persons in the community doing veterinary medical practices,” said Dr Sands.

“They were neutering and spraying dogs, doing surgery, administering vaccinations, artificially inseminating, doing C-sections. You have people chopping dogs’ tails and ears without using anaesthesia. You know, how inhumane, how cruel.”

Dr Sands explained that, under the new legislation, unlicensed persons can be prosecuted for conducting medical procedures on animals and for selling black market medication. “They were doing things that they weren’t supposed to do, and we were having a lot of problems with these laypersons who were not equipped or registered to practice veterinary medicine,” he explained.

“We tend to have a lot of problems as a result, because they use expired vaccines and the dogs are getting sick. We have an outbreak of parvo on the island right now, and we have people who immunise. We don’t know how to get them, because vaccines are only sold to registered veterinarians.

“It is a problem. Now, with this legislation in place, you have to be registered and licensed to practice veterinary medicine. You have to come from an accredited school and have professional training.”

Kim Aranha, president of the Bahamas Humane Society, also applauded the Association for successfully advocating for stricter legislation. She added that once the legislation has passed there needs to be adequate enforcement and oversight to ensure persons conducting illegal procedures are penalised.

“This is certainly a step in the right direction,” said Ms Aranha. “There is a ton of animal legislation and welfare laws out there and they seem to fall on deaf ears. So, legislation is great, tabling is great, but then we have to act.

“We’ve got a lot of people out there doing things that the vets should be doing and that they shouldn’t be doing. There are people out there who are not vets, who are clipping ears and docking tails and giving shots and administering medication, and that’s not their job.”