June 12 , 2009

Volume VI, No. 32

End of Session Legislative Update

The Illinois General Assembly is currently in recess at the call of the chair. It is possible that the legislators will return to Springfield in the near future to finalize the state budget. The substantive (non-budget) work of the legislature, however, is finished until the Fall Veto Session.

The ISVMA had an outstanding year at the State Capitol. Every bill the ISVMA proposed and pushed to pass was approved by the legislature and every bill opposed by the ISVMA was defeated (or amended to remove objectionable provisions).

We are very grateful to the hundreds of ISVMA members that participated in our grassroots advocacy efforts and at the ISVMA Lobby Day on April 1, 2009. Your involvement has made all the difference in our effectiveness!

The following is a summary of the bills introduced by the ISVMA and passed by the legislature this year:

• House Bill 364 - Veterinary Student Loan Repayment Program Act*

This bill is an ISVMA initiative that creates the Veterinary Student Loan Repayment Program Act to be administered through the University of Illinois. The bill requires a loan recipient under the Program to enter into a program agreement under which he or she agrees to practice in (i) veterinary practice that is at least 51% devoted to large animal medicine that enhances agricultural animal health and productivity or (ii) regulatory veterinary medicine that supports public health and safety, livestock biosecurity, or food animal disease diagnosis for at least one year for each year in which he or she received a loan. It also sets forth penalties for failure to satisfy a program agreement.

 

• House Bill 2331 - Practice Pending Permits

This bill is an ISVMA initiative designed to allow recent graduates of accredited veterinary colleges, made application for licensure and either passed their NAVLE or are awaiting their NAVLE results to practice under the direct supervision of a licensed veterinarian until they receive notice of failing their NAVLE test, withdraw their application or obtain their license.

 

• Senate Bill 38 - Euthanasia Limitations

ISVMA originally opposed Senate Bill 38 until the sponsor agreed to amend the bill to delete a reference to the use of "liquids or substances that can be placed in a dog's food or mouth" for the purposes of euthanasia. The bill was also amended to include language offered by ISVMA which clarifies that a certified euthanasia technician can only euthanatize an animal on the physical premises of a licensed euthanasia agency (animal control facility or animal shelter).

• Senate Bill 1443 - Veterinary Teaching Hospital

This bill is an ISVMA initiative to clarify and align a series of exemptions related to licensure for the faculty and facilities at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine.

• Senate Bill 1830 - Practice Pending Permits*

This bill is an ISVMA initiative that includes the same language that is in House Bill 2331 - which was also passed. The Governor needs only to sign one of the two bills to create the new law.

The ISVMA opposed several bills this year that were defeated by the Illinois General Assembly. Bills were opposed for several reasons that didn't always have to do with the specific issue the bills were supposedly written to address. A poorly drafted bill can have profoundly negative consequences and the bills opposed by ISVMA this year all had fundamental drafting problems. The defeated bills that ISVMA opposed this year included:

• House Bill 198 - Dog Breeder License Act*

 

• Senate Bill 53 - Dog Breeder License Act*

 

• Senate Bill 139 - Tail Docking / Ear Cropping

• Senate Bill 1336 - Bovine Tail Docking

• Senate Bill 1337 - Farm Animal Confinement

*Senate Joint Resolution 56 established a Joint Task Force on Breeders and Pet Stores for the purpose of giving recommendations to the General Assembly regarding comprehensive legislative changes to the Animal Welfare Act and the Humane Care for Animals Act. Discussions will include how to limit the breeding of puppies and kittens in Illinois in substandard conditions with irresponsible breeding programs, poor health and socialization practices, and little or no concern with the proper placement of pets.

Members Appointed to the Joint Task Force On Breeders and Pet Stores
First Public Meeting to be held Monday, June 22

SPRINGFIELD, IL – The Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) will hold the first meeting of the Joint Task Force on Breeders and Pet Stores on Monday, June 22 at 9am in the Artisan’s Building on the Illinois State Fairgrounds. The Task Force was established by Senate Joint Resolution 56 (SJR 56). The initial meeting will be open to the public. Doors will open at 8:30am.

SJR 56 called for the Director of the Illinois Department of Agriculture to appoint the Chairman and several members of the Task Force to give recommendations to the General Assembly regarding comprehensive legislative changes to the Animal Welfare Act and the Humane Care for Animals Act. The Task Force will hold a series of meetings between now and the end of the year.

The following is a list of the members appointed to the Joint Task Force on Breeders and Pet Stores:

Future meeting times will be discussed and set at the June 22nd meeting. For more information about the Joint Task Force on Breeders and Pet Stores, you can call Jeff Williams at 217-782-9013. Written comments can be submitted to the Task Force online at www.agr.state.il.us
after June 18th.

It is the policy of the Illinois Department of Agriculture to comply with the provisions of the American with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. §12101 et. seq. Any individual needing reasonable accommodation should make request in advance to Brent Eggleston at 217/524-5125 or Brent.Eggleston@illinois.gov.

AVSAB Speaks Out Against Millan-Merial Partnership

The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB) wants to call your attention to the controversial promotion program featuring a partnership of Merial with Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer. Merial has included Millan display cases and DVDs with their Heartgard and Frontline products, as well as free coupons for clients to download videos by Millan on dog behavior and training.

AVSAB and the veterinary behavior community are deeply disappointed that a veterinary healthcare company has chosen to endorse Mr. Millan and his out-dated and potentially dangerous training techniques in spite of the recommendation against such partnership by behaviorists.

Mr. Millan's philosophy runs counter to the standard of care promoted by veterinary behaviorists and taught at veterinary schools. We find it disturbing that a major pharmaceutical company would ignore the recommendations of veterinarians in their field of expertise.

The American College of Veterinary Behaviorists (ACVB), the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB) and the Society of Veterinary Behavior Technicians (SVBT) have uniformly spoken out against the punishment-based techniques employed by Mr. Millan on his television show "The Dog Whisperer". (Read the position statements at www.AVSABonline.org). At best, the show is entertaining, but misleading to pet owners. At worst, Mr. Millan's techniques and misinformation have contributed to increased aggression and anxiety or resulted in physical injury to the pet and/or pet owner.

ISVMA Membership Renewal & New Hires

ISVMA membership renewal can be a very frustrating experience for the ISVMA staff. Many veterinarians that move to another practice during the year forget to notify us of their status change and we spend (literally) hundreds of hours tracking down members that do not respond the renewal request.

If you or one of your associates has changed jobs during the past twelve months, please verify that ISVMA has the updated information. You can check by visiting the Find a Veterinarian page on the ISVMA website.

You may also want to check to make sure that ISVMA has all the information on your practice listed. For instance, if we have your practice website in our database it will show under each veterinarian's name. If there is no link to your practice website, let us know and we will add it!

Nearly 2000 people visit the ISVMA website every day. Many of them are pet owners looking for a veterinarian. The Find A Veterinarian page is the most visited page on our website and you should take advantage of the free advertising through your state association!

If you have an associate that is not an ISVMA member, we hope that you will encourage them to join this year. Additionally, if you have hired a new veterinarian in the last year or have CVT employees that are not members, we hope that you will sign them up too!

All member prospects can fill out the simple membership application form at http://www.isvma.org/about_us/application.html or contact the ISVMA offices at (217) 546-8381.

About the Photo

The Magnificent Hummingbird (Eugenes fulgens) is a large hummingbird that breeds in mountains from the southwestern United States to western Panama.

The adult male has a green-bronze dorsal, becoming more bronzed on the black-tipped tail. The crown is violet, the throat gorget bright blue-green, and the rest of the head is black apart from a white spot behind the eye. The chest is green-bronze and the belly grayish.

The female Magnificent Hummingbird has a bronze-green dorsal and a dull gray ventral coloring. There is a white stripe behind her eye. Immature birds are like the female, but darker and browner.

The food of this species is primarily nectar taken from a variety of flowers. It is more of an insect gleaner than other hummingbird species, though. Magnificent Hummingbird males perch conspicuously and defend their feeding territories aggressively.

The Magnificent Hummingbird is found in mountain canyons, pine-oak woodlands, and streamsides. It is found exclusively in southeastern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and western Texas. It winters in Mexico.

This large hummingbird flies more slowly than the smaller hummers; sometimes it will even glide.

I took this photo in July 2007 at Madera Canyon, Arizona.

Contact Us

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