General Assembly Raised Bill No. 6591
January Session, 2013 LCO No. 4114
*04114_______PH_*
Referred to Committee on PUBLIC HEALTH
Introduced by:
(PH)
General Assembly
Raised Bill No. 6591
January Session, 2013
LCO No. 4114
*04114_______PH_*
Referred to Committee on PUBLIC HEALTH
Introduced by:
(PH)
AN ACT REQUIRING THE EUTHANIZATION OF ANY CAT OR DOG TO BE PERFORMED BY A LICENSED VETERINARIAN.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, whenever any cat or dog is euthanized, such euthanization shall be performed in a humane manner by a licensed veterinarian, provided nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the euthanization of any cat or dog as provided in section 22-358 of the general statutes. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to apply to the euthanization of any farm animal or livestock, to the euthanization of any cat or dog by any law enforcement officer in the course of his or her duties or by the Connecticut Humane Society.
Sec. 2. Section 20-197 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2013):
(a) No person shall practice veterinary medicine, surgery or dentistry [until he] or shall euthanize an animal, except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, until such person has obtained a license as provided in section 20-199. A person shall be construed to practice veterinary medicine, surgery or dentistry, within the meaning of this chapter, who holds himself or herself out as being able to diagnose, administer biologics for, treat, operate or prescribe for any animal or bird disease, pain, injury, deformity or physical condition, or who either offers or undertakes, by any means or methods, to diagnose, administer biologics for, treat, operate or prescribe for any animal or bird disease, pain, injury, deformity or physical condition. The [euthanizing of animals in accordance with applicable state and federal drug laws by the Connecticut Humane Society, the] floating of teeth in horses by persons experienced in that practice and the performance of myofascial trigger point therapy by persons experienced in that practice shall not be deemed to be the practice of veterinary medicine. For the purposes of this section, "floating teeth" means using hand-held rasps to reduce or eliminate sharp or uneven edges on a horse's upper and lower molars to avoid injury to the tongue and cheeks and to improve chewing food, but does not include treating decay or tumors or extracting teeth. For the purposes of this section, "myofascial trigger point therapy" means the use of specific palpation, compression, stretching and corrective exercise for promoting optimum athleticism, and "persons experienced in that practice" means persons who, prior to October 1, 2003, have attended a minimum of two hundred hours of classroom, lecture and hands-on practice in myofascial trigger point therapy, including animal musculoskeletal anatomy and biomechanics, theory and application of animal myofascial trigger point techniques, factors that habituate a presenting condition and corrective exercise.
(b) The provisions of this section shall not apply to the killing or euthanizing of a dog or cat pursuant to section 22-358, the killing or euthanizing of any farm animal or livestock or the euthanizing of an animal by the Connecticut Humane Society.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 from passage New section
Sec. 2 October 1, 2013 20-197
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
from passage
New section
Sec. 2
October 1, 2013
20-197
Statement of Purpose:
To require, in most circumstances, that euthanasia of a dog or cat be performed by a licensed veterinarian.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]