Bill introduced to help veterinarians in Arkansas facing pushback

JONESBORO, Ark. (KAIT) - A bill appearing before a state senate committee on Tuesday could bring potential help to veterinarians across Arkansas.

House Bill 1182 would give veterinary technician specialists the ability to do more to help their veterinarian, such as write prescriptions.

State District 87 Representative DeAnn Vaught’s bill said this could take a load off workers in the state.

“I do not think every vet in the state of Arkansas will take advantage of this, but I think it’s essential for our rural vets to be able to go and do this in their areas,” she said.

Vaught said this could help fix past issues farmers have dealt with.

“Out in our rural districts where we don’t have very many large animal vets left in the state, and the ones we do have are, on average, 55 years and older,” she said. “So not having a vet school here has really hurt Arkansas in being able to grow our own vets and keep them here in our state.”

Despite the advantages, the bill has faced some pushback.

Arkansas Veterinarian Association President Everett Rogers said there could be issues if the bill is passed.

“The Veterinary Technician specialist can still not legally prescribe medications because it would be in conflict with these various other federal agencies and rules and regulations that we have to abide by,” he said.

Rogers added there are no veterinary technician specialists in Arkansas.

Copyright 2023 KAIT. All rights reserved.