Agricultural News
Veterinarians Call For Language Correction of HB 3202 Before Final Passage
Wed, 31 Mar 2010 6:15:02 CDT
Veterinarians continue to complain about the language that is contained in HB 3202, likely to be voted on in the Oklahoma State Senate this week. State Representative Brian Renegar is a practicing Vet and continues to oppose HB 3202. His major objection is the inclusion of the phrase "animal husbandry" as a practice that is exempt from being prohibited under the Veterinary Practice Act. Dr. Renegar says that if this bill passes with this phrase included- it will mean that anyone can do about anything to an animal, call it animal husbandry and be exempt from regulation and oversight by the Oklahoma Vet Medical Board. He adds that it will be much easier for "dangerous drugs" to be available to just about anyone in the state- especially drugs that could be used in illegal abortions as well as a drug that could be used as a date rape tool.
Dr. Charles Freeman, former official with the Oklahoma State Department of Agriculture and a practicing Vet in the Hobart and Altus area, agrees with Dr. Brian Renegar. He has written lawmakers and says in that letter "We as veterinarians know what is going to happen with the Practice Act stripped of its very substance. You and everyone else living here or moving here has the same rights and privileges to practice veterinary medicine that I do yet I am the only one with regulation or oversight and a license to lose. My license is not worth the paper it is written on if the bill is made into law. Can you do the diagnostics and cruciate repair surgery that I have scheduled for today? Can you or anyone else comply with federal script laws and DEA requirements for controlled substances?"
Dr. Freeman accuses State Representative Don Armes of deception in negotiating with Brian Reneger and not including language that was agreed to in the version passed by the House earlier this month. "I am certain you are keenly aware of what happened in the last minutes before the House voted to approve this bill. The switch that was done by Rep. Armes when he had agreed to submit the correct amendments if Rep. Renegar pulled a 4 part amendment is deception. In good faith, Dr. Renegar did what he said he would but Don Armes did not."
Dr. Freeman says that the State Senate must correct the language that is in the current version of the measure or else "Those with no accountability, ethics or morals will use this vehicle to involve themselves and gain access to illegal script and controlled substances. These items will then be used in ways they were not meant to be used and in hands they were not meant to be."
We talked with Dr. Renegar on Tuesday morning at the State Capitol and you can hear his thoughts on 3202 by clicking on the Listen Bar below.
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