2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 97 - Board of Examiners of Veterinary Medicine (§§ 2951 — 2969) › § 2954 - Licensing requirements—Exceptions

Only veterinary doctors duly licensed by the Board or holding an effective provisional license issued by the Board, as prescribed in § 2961 of this title shall practice veterinary medicine in Puerto Rico. This chapter shall not be construed in the sense of prohibiting:
(a) That a regular student of a school of veterinary medicine or veterinary technology carries out functions and duties assigned by his professors under direct supervision of a licensed veterinarian or, working during his vacation, under such direct supervision.
(b) That a person may offer advice or acts according to what constitutes an acceptable animal handling practice, as established by the Board.
(c) That a licensed veterinarian in another jurisdiction carries out temporary consultations with a licensed veterinarian in Puerto Rico, as provided for such purposes by the Board.
(d) That during the normal course of business, a merchant or manufacturer promotes or demonstrates the use of medicines, food, artifacts or other products used in healing or preventing animal illnesses, provided they comply with state and federal laws and regulations that govern the manufacturing, distribution and sale of pharmaceutical products.
(e) That the owner of an animal, or his full-time employee, gives medical treatment to said owner’s animal, except when the ownership of said animal has been transferred for the purpose of evading this chapter. It is further provided, that this exception shall not apply when the provisions of the state or federal Animal Welfare Act are breached, when the said employee is an unlicensed veterinarian, or when the animal being treated may place the integrity of the food chain at risk.
(f) That a member of the faculty of an accredited school of veterinary medicine or veterinary technology performs his/her pertinent duties, or that a person gives conferences, imparts instructions or makes demonstrations in a school, or in connection with a continuing professional education seminar or program.
(g) That a qualified person, under federal or local animal protection laws, engages in good faith in scientific studies which require experiment with animal[s] under the supervision of a committee that guarantees humane treatment of the animals used in the study.
(h) That a person duly trained and authorized therefor by competent government agencies or by the Board shall carry out artificial insemination practices.
(i) That the technologists, technicians or assistants who are not veterinarians perform their functions and work under the supervision and orders of a licensed veterinarian. Provided, That such functions and work shall not include diagnoses, prognoses, prescribing nor surgery.
(j) That a government entity or charitable entity registered in the State Department for the purposes of protecting animals and of controlling stray, lost or abandoned animals shall be able to gather together and receive these animals, or place them in an animal shelter if brought by their owners. For the purposes of this chapter, the above-mentioned entities in this subsection shall be deemed to be owners of the animals in their possession.
(k) That any person, in unexpected and incidental cases, offers immediate first aid, as defined by the Board through regulations, as an animal’s emergency measure, until a licensed veterinarian can provide professional treatment. It being understood that no person or entity shall be authorized under the provisions of this subsection, to breach this chapter, nor to charge directly or indirectly, for such services.
(l) That a graduate of a non-accredited school who participates in the evaluation and training program provided in § 2953 of this title, performs the official duties and functions prescribed in said program under the direct supervision of a licensed veterinarian.
(m) That a veterinary doctor employed by the federal government performs his/her official duties.
History —Aug. 4, 1979, No. 194, p. 549, § 4; Dec. 28, 2001, No. 187, § 4.