Regulatory

HARRISBURG, PA. - Two bills involving treatment of dogs in commercial kennels passed the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and were sent to the state Senate.

PORTLAND, ORE. - As many areas face shortages of veterinary assistants and technicians, more state boards are debating how far they can go to extend care.

SPRINGFIELD, N.J. - The New Jersey Veterinary Medical Association (NJVMA) managed to have veterinarians exempted from being required to obtain National Provider Identification (NPI) numbers.

A debate has ensued over California's Prop 2, which would drastically alter animal agriculture.

Franklin, Tenn. - Mars Petcare US issued a voluntary recall today for products manufactured at its Everson, Penn. facility. The pet food is being recalled because of potential contamination with Salmonella serotype Schwarzengrund, the company reports. This voluntary recall only affects the United States.

Nashville, Tenn. - Tennessee recently revised its rules regarding euthanasia of companion animals.

WASHINGTON -- President Bush signed the Higher Education Reauthorization Bill into law, paving the way for a veterinary grant program that would increase the number of veterinarians in public health practice and research.

North Grafton, Mass. - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) closed its investigation of a recent botulin toxin scare at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University.

As a California veterinarian, my clients expect the best possible care and advice for their pets and horses. However, my clients also ask me about other animal-welfare issues, and the public expects the state's premier veterinary organization, the California Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA), to weigh in on important policy matters related to the welfare of animals.

Better parameters on what veterinarians consider suitable conditions for companion-animal domestic travel could be crafted at the next American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Council on Veterinary Service meeting.

Opposing a proposed law that would mandate spaying or neutering, the Illinois Veterinary Medical Association (IVMA) says it hasn't worked in other cities and would kill an already successful program there.

Washington - The U.S. Senate earmarked funds to help veterinary students repay loans and ease the shortage of veterinarians in rural areas.

Raleigh, N.C. -- North Carolina has a new veterinary medical board member.

National Report - The Thoroughbred racing industry, now effectively on notice to bring about serious reforms or look for Congress to do so, appears to be taking strides in that direction.

Sacramento, Calif. - Municipalities won't be able to ban state-sanctioned medical practices if a proposed bill passes in California.

New Orleans - Whether even to discuss a ban on antimicrobials in livestock feed for growth promotion split the House of Delegates nearly in half at the annual American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) conference.

Impotent might be the best word to describe a law that would have required almost every cat and dog older than 4 months to be spayed or neutered before the measure was dramatically altered on the California Senate floor.

Washington - A bill was introduced into the U.S. Senate July 10 that would counteract a U.S. Department of Agriculture proposal to allow the importation of beef from a region in Argentina - a country that has not yet eradicated foot and mouth disease FMD).

Rockville, Md.- A new rule will go into effect this fall prohibiting the extra-label use of cephalosporin antimicrobial drugs in food animals.

Washington - Meaningful reform of the Thoroughbred racing and breeding industry is on its way - and probably much sooner than many would have believed as little as six months ago.

Limited licensure is not exactly a revolutionary concept.

These high-profile Thoroughbred racehorse injuries and deaths, seen nationally on live television, prompted the Jockey Club and the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority (KHRA) to form welfare and safety committees to look into racetrack safety issues, and led to a hearing last month before the U.S.

Harrisburg, Pa. - Sweeping legislation is aimed at cleaning up Pennsylvania puppy mills, but the Pennsylvania Veterinary Medical Association says the proposals still need some work.

Washington - The Reportable Food Registry, which the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was to implement by Sept. 27 as a means of providing earlier warning of possibly tainted human or animal food products, will be delayed under the agency's discretionary power until the spring of 2009, the FDA announced.

Camden, N.J. - A federal judge approved a $24 million settlement hammered out a week earlier, aimed at compensating owners of thousands of pets that were sickened or killed by tainted pet foods last year.

Sacramento, Calif. - The same day a new tape was released by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) showing alleged new abuse of cattle at a New Mexico livestock auction, a state Assembly panel rejected legislation that would have required slaughterhouses to install surveillance cameras.

Washington - The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) testified today before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, addressing the preventive use of antimicrobials in food animals and reiterating the necessity of antibiotic use in livestock for ensuring food safety.

Overland Park, Kan. - ProHeart 6 is back.