Here's a sign of the times. There's a set of new regulations proposed by the PA Veterinary Medicine Practice Board.

Animal abuse is defined as "to do, or to order or aid another to do, any act likely to cause unnecessary pain, injury, debility, disease or lameness or unnecessary fright, stress, panic or hysteria in an animal."

It defines neglect, in part, of depriving an animal over which you have a duty of care of "support for an animal's basic physical and emotional needs."

It defines failure to report animal abuse or neglect (as defined above) as conduct which may result in disciplinary action against the veterinarian.

These revised definitions are expected to incorporated in PA law and violation of them by non-veterinarians will be criminal offenses.

Note to vets:
These rules would also prevent veterinarians from tail docking, ear cropping, dewclaw removal, performing c-sections and other surgical procedures.

New laws require vets examine dogs kept in larger kennels; PA twice annually, VA every year. Call it a make-up $$ requirement for lost revenue due to the procedure prohibitions.