89.05 Practice; penalties.

(1) Except as provided under sub. (2) and ss. 256.155 and 257.03, no person may offer to practice, advertise to practice or practice veterinary medicine, or use, in connection with his or her name, any title or description which may convey the impression that he or she is a veterinarian, without a license or temporary permit from the examining board. For purposes of this subsection, a person who makes extra-label use of a drug on an animal without a prescription or in any manner not authorized by that prescription is considered to be practicing veterinary medicine.

(2) No veterinary license or temporary permit is required for the following activities or persons:

(a) Artificial insemination, or for continuing the practice of pregnancy examinations of animals when such practice was engaged in prior to February 11, 1968.

(b) Castrating male livestock, as defined in s. 95.68 (1) (d) or for dehorning or branding animals.

(c) Students at a veterinary college approved by the examining board.

(d) Certified veterinary technicians while working under the direct supervision of a veterinarian.

(e) Employees of the federal government while engaged in their official duties.

(f) Employees of an educational or research institution while engaged in teaching or research. This paragraph does not apply to employees of a school of veterinary medicine in this state who practice veterinary medicine on privately owned animals.

(g) Employees of a school of veterinary medicine in this state who practice veterinary medicine on privately owned animals only as a part of their employment and who are licensed under s. 89.06 (2m).

(h) Graduates of schools outside the United States and Canada who are enrolled in the educational commission for foreign veterinary graduates certification program of the American Veterinary Medical Association while completing the required year of clinical assessment under the supervision of a veterinarian.

(3) Any person violating this section may for the first offense be fined not more than $1,000, and for any 2nd offense within 3 years be fined not more than $3,000.

History: 1975 c. 309; 1977 c. 418; 1979 c. 337; 1981 c. 125; 1987 a. 39; 1991 a. 306; 1995 a. 321; 2005 a. 96, 237; 2009 a. 42; 2015 a. 55 s. 4494; Stats. 2015 s. 89.05; 2017 a. 166.

A license under sub. (2) (a) is not required for person to engage in artificial insemination of animals but is required for persons engaged in pregnancy examinations who were not engaged in practice prior to February 11, 1968. 78 Atty. Gen. 236.