President Obama Signs The Veterinary Medicine Mobility Act

The Vet Med Mobility Act permits veterinarians to carry controlled substances with them for field work.

Some of you may recall that we posted information about the Veterinary Medicine Mobility Act back in February asking all of you to write to your United States Congress men and women to urge their support. Thanks to all of your collective efforts, the Act sailed through Congress at a record rate and was signed into law by President Obama on August 1, 2014.

What this means for you: If this law had not been passed, the Federal Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) would have pursued enforcement to stop your horse’s veterinarian from bringing important drugs to your farm. Vets would not have been able to effectively sedate your horse for some procedures, and more importantly, they would have been able to perform euthanasia on-the-farm.

As a reader from Los Angeles writes on Govtrack.us:“The importance of a veterinarian having euthanasia drugs for a field emergency is significant. What do I do if my horse breaks a leg on my farm? How do I put the animal out of her misery if these drugs are unavailable to my vet? I live in the outskirts of Los Angeles where it is against the law to shoot a gun. What do I do? This law must be passed to right this situation.”

Thankfully, the U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, and the President agreed.

This bill would have not had the success it did if it weren’t for the original co-sponsors Kurt Schrader (D-Oregon) and Ted Yoho (R-Florida.) Both are veterinarians and represent the only two animal doctors in all of Congress. When a bill of this nature is introduced, fellow Senators and Representatives have an easier time getting behind it when they know that the leaders for the bill have expertise in matters pertaining to it. For this reason, it is vital that we have veterinarians serving in Congress. Both men are running for re-election, so if you happen to be a voter in their district, don’t forget this great public service that they did to protect your horses.

Do any of you have important horse-related legislation going on in your states? Write in and let us know!

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