(1) This chapter shall be known as the Kentucky Veterinary Medicine Practice Act. (2) It is hereby declared that:
(a) The practices of veterinary medicine, veterinary technology, animal euthanasia, and allied animal health professionals and the operation of veterinary facilities, AAHP facilities, and board-certified animal control agencies are privileges which are granted by legislative authority and are subject to regulation and control in the interest of public health, safety, and welfare to protect the public from:

Terms Used In Kentucky Statutes 321.175

  • AAHP facility: means any building, fixed facility, place, premises, mobile facility, mobile unit, or location from which the practice of allied animal health professionals on animals is conducted or performed, including but not limited to a mobile clinic or facility, outpatient clinic, emergency facility, specialty facility, referral facility, human facility, or center. See Kentucky Statutes 321.181
  • Action: includes all proceedings in any court of this state. See Kentucky Statutes 446.010
  • Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
  • Animal: means any member of the animal kingdom other than a human, whether living or dead. See Kentucky Statutes 321.181
  • Board: means the Kentucky Board of Veterinary Examiners. See Kentucky Statutes 321.181
  • Committee substitute: Short for committee amendment in the nature of a substitute.
  • Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
  • Premises: means any place where an animal is located when veterinary medicine is being practiced. See Kentucky Statutes 321.181
  • Statute: A law passed by a legislature.

1. Being misled by incompetent, unscrupulous, and unauthorized practitioners;
2. Unprofessional or illegal practices by persons licensed to practice veterinary medicine, veterinary technology, animal euthanasia, and the allied animal health professions;
3. Substandard care; and
4. Unlicensed persons;
(b) It is a matter of public interest and concern that the practices of veterinary medicine, veterinary technology, animal euthanasia, and allied animal health professions working on animals merit and receive the confidence of the public and that only qualified individuals be permitted to practice these professions in the Commonwealth. This chapter shall be liberally construed to carry out these objectives and purposes;
(c) The intent of this chapter is to regulate the professions of veterinary medicine, veterinary technology, animal euthanasia, and allied animal health professional work on animals and to establish standards for veterinary premises and AAHP premises, both fixed and mobile, and shall result in displacing competition by restricting licensure, permitting, certification, and registration to practice these professions, as this practice is defined and interpreted by the board, to persons and premises determined by the board to be qualified under this chapter; and
(d) Any resulting restriction on competition is outweighed by the broader interest in protection of the public health, safety, and welfare. It is understood that the regulatory structure calls for veterinarians, veterinary technicians, AAHPs, and citizens at large to serve on the board and this chapter recognizes the need for professional expertise provided by veterinarians and veterinary technicians serving the public interest.
(3) This chapter is intended to provide active oversight and supervision through its legislative enactment, the promulgation of administrative regulations, the appointment of board members by the Governor, legal representation of the board by competent counsel, legislative appropriation of moneys and spending authority to support the board, and engagement in the administrative regulation review process under the auspices of the Legislative Research Commission.
(4) It is the purpose of this chapter to promote, preserve, and protect the public health, safety, and welfare by and through the licensure, permitting, certification,
registration, and regulation of individuals, whether physically located within or outside of the Commonwealth, who practice veterinary medicine, veterinary technology, animal euthanasia, and AAHP services within Kentucky, and the registration of veterinary facility locations, AAHP facility locations, and mobile facilities where veterinary medicine or AAHP activities are being practiced. In furtherance of this purpose, the Kentucky Board of Veterinary Examiners is created, and its members, functions, and procedures shall be established in accordance with this chapter.
(5) The purpose of this chapter is to establish a comprehensive scheme to fully occupy the fields of veterinary medicine, veterinary technology, AAHP work on animals, and animal euthanasia, and provide a uniform regulatory scheme to be enforced by the Kentucky Board of Veterinary Examiners as defined in the scopes of practice.
Effective: June 29, 2023
History: Amended 2023 Ky. Acts ch. 95, sec. 1, effective June 29, 2023. — Amended
2016 Ky. Acts ch. 116, sec. 1, effective July 15, 2016. — Amended 1996 Ky. Acts ch. 318, sec. 282, effective July 15, 1996. — Created 1992 Ky. Acts ch. 299, sec. 1, effective July 14, 1992.
Legislative Research Commission Note (7/14/92). This statute was created in 1992 Ky.
Acts ch. 299, which contains the enrolled text of Senate Bill 250. A committee substitute for this bill was adopted by the House with a floor amendment, and the Senate subsequently concurred in this action by the House; this amended substitute thus became the enrolled version of the bill. In drafting the House Committee Substitute, the original Section 10 of the bill was deleted in its entirety, but internal section references within the bill were not renumbered to reflect this deletion. Therefore, in codifying this statute, the internal section reference within Acts ch.
299, sec. 1, has been changed pursuant to KRS § 7.136(1).