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Veterinary surgeons to be registered
The Veterinary Surgeons Registration Bill, which aims to regulate the practice of veterinary surgery in Hong Kong, is gazetted today (Friday).
At present, a person who wishes to practise veterinary surgery in Hong Kong needs to be a member of the United Kingdom's Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons before he can obtain and use the antibiotics, poisons and other controlled drugs necessary to practise the profession.
However, it is believed that there are also some unqualified persons practising as veterinary surgeons in Hong Kong. Veterinary treatment administered by unqualified persons may be expected to cause suffering to animals.
There are now 93 qualified veterinary surgeons in Hong Kong, of whom 71 are engaged in private practice. The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons exercises disciplinary control over the professional conduct of its members, but faces practical difficulties in intervening effectively from the United Kingdom in professional disputes involving the practice of veterinary surgery by its members in Hong Kong.
These problems point to a need for a locally-based statutory regime of professional standards and disciplinary control for veterinary surgeons in the interests of animal welfare, the veterinary profession itself and consumer protection.
Under the Bill, a registration system for veterinary surgeons will be established.
A Veterinary Surgeons Board consisting of 10 persons to be appointed by the Secretary for Economic Services - namely, a chairman, six persons who are veterinary surgeons and three persons who are medical practitioners or pharmacists or representative of the interests of persons who utilise veterinary services, will be set up.
The Board will have the power to:
establish and maintain a register of registered veterinary surgeons,
set and review the qualification standards for registration as a "registered veterinary surgeon",
examine and verify the qualifications of persons who apply for registration as registered veterinary surgeons,