Veterinary Surgeon - Definition - Law Dictionary Home Dictionary Definition veterinary-surgeon

Definition :

Veterinary Surgeon [fr. veterinarius, concerned with veterinum, a beast of burden]. A person who treats the illnesses, etc., of animals. A Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons was incorporated in 1844, and supplemental charters were granted thereto in 1876 and 1879. The Charter of 1876 directed a register of veterinary surgeons to be kept. The (English) Veterinary Surgeons Act, 1881, regulates the correction of the register, enacts that examinations shall be held in accordance with the charters, and provides that no person not qualified by registra-tion, etc., may recover in any court any charge for performing any veterinary operation, or for giving any veterinary advice, and imposes penalties for false representation as to membership of the college and prohibits unregistered practitioners from using the title of veterinary surgeon or veterinary practitioner. The college has disciplin-ary powers over its members, which have been extended to holders of the veterinary certificate of the Highland and Agricultural Society who received the certificate before the passing of the Act of 1881 and were allowed to practise by that Act (Veterinary Surgeons Amendment Act, 1900). The Act of 1881 allowed persons who had been practising continuously for not less than five years before the passing of the Act to be placed on a separate register under the heading 'Existing Practitioners.' The (English) Veterinary Surgeons Act (1881) Amendment Act, 1920, extends the disciplinary powers of the college to these persons, and also provides that companies and societies registered under the Companies Acts or the Industrial and Provident Societies Acts shall be liable to penalties under the Act of 1881 in the same way as individuals. With exception of the above two classes of persons, all veterinary surgeon must be persons qualified in accordance with examination prescribed by the college, and see the Veterinary Surgeons (Irish Free State Agreement) Act, 1932 (22 & 23 Geo. 5, c. 10), preserving, subject to the Act, the functions of the Royal Veterinary College in respect of Southern Ireland. See Chitty's Statutes, tit. 'Veterinary Surgeons.'

As to avoidance of a sale of a horse on a certificate of a veterinary surgeon given after offer or acceptance of a bribe from the seller, see BRIBE.

As to fees for notifying diseases of animals and other matters, see the Diseases of Animals Act, 1909, and Acts referred to sub tit. ANIMALS.