House passes Anderson Bill that Opens the Door to More Large-animal Vets

ST. PAUL – Legislation Rep. Paul Anderson, R-Starbuck, authored to address a shortage of large-animal veterinarians passed the House unanimously on Thursday.

Anderson’s bill (H.F. 3718) expands the State Board of Veterinary Medicine to include licensed veterinary technicians, a new category of animal medicine in our state. It updates Minnesota’s regulations with defined licensure and continuing education requirements for veterinary technicians. It also clarifies professional definitions such as telemedicine and emergency stabilization, and establishes detailed standards for drug dispensing, medical recordkeeping, and humane animal treatment.

“It is good we passed this bill as one way of encouraging more people to explore treating large animals, especially with a shortage of these veterinarians in Greater Minnesota,” Anderson said. “Veterinary technicians will help mitigate the workload to some degree, but we ultimately need to address the high cost of achieving a veterinarian’s degree through loan forgiveness and other ways.”

Anderson said the measure also authorizes telecommunications in veterinary care, creates a program for donating and reissuing non-controlled medications, and strengthens oversight by specifying grounds for license suspension or revocation.

After passing the House 134-0, the bill now awaits action in the Senate.