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

• Citation: S.I. 1988/526
• Sections: 8

Section 1 Title and commencement

This Order may be cited as the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 (Schedule 3 Amendment) Order 1988 and shall come into force on the day after the day on which it is made.

Section 2 Amendment

For Schedule 3 to the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 (exemptions from restrictions on practice of veterinary surgery) there shall be substituted the following Schedule —

Section 1

Any minor medical treatment given to an animal by its owner, by another member of the household of which the owner is a member or by a person in the employment of the owner.

Section 2

Any medical or minor surgical treatment (not involving entry into a body cavity) given, otherwise than for reward, to an animal used in agriculture, as defined in the Agriculture Act 1947, by the owner of the animal or by a person engaged or employed in caring for animals so used.

Section 3

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

Section 3 Revocation

The Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 (Schedule 3 Amendment) Order 1982 is hereby revoked.

Section 4

The performance by any person of or over the age of eighteen of any of the following operations, that is to say —

(a) the castration of a male animal or the caponising of an animal, whether by chemical means or otherwise;

(b) the docking of the tail of a lamb;

(c) the docking of the tail of a dog before its eyes are open;

(d) the amputation of the dew claws of a dog before its eyes are open.

Section 5

The performance, by any person of the age of seventeen undergoing instruction in animal husbandry, of any operation mentioned in paragraph 4(a) or (b) above and the disbudding of a calf by any such person or by a person of or over the age of eighteen undergoing such instruction, if, in each case, either of the following conditions is complied with, that is to say —

(a) the instruction in animal husbandry is given by a person registered in the register of veterinary surgeons or the supplementary veterinary register and the operation is performed under his direct personal supervision;

(b) the instruction in animal husbandry is given at a recognised institution and the operation is performed under the direct personal supervision of a person appointed to give such instruction at the institution.

In this paragraph “recognised institution” means —

(i) as respects Great Britain, an institution maintained or assisted (in England and Wales) by a local education authority or (in Scotland) by an education authority or in either case an institution for the giving of further education as respects which a grant is paid by the Secretary of State or an institution recognised for the purposes of this paragraph by the Secretary of State; and

(ii) as respects Northern Ireland, an agricultural college maintained by the Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland.