H.B. 1527 Summary

• Prohibits animal owners and their employees from performing surgical procedures on pet animals, including cesarean sections, ear cropping, tail docking, devocalization, declawing, and castration via banding.

• Restricts the exemption in veterinary licensing law that previously allowed owners to treat their own animals, now requiring licensed veterinarians for all surgical procedures on pets.

• Increases the criminal penalty for unlicensed veterinary practice from a maximum fine of $500 to $1,000 and removes the imprisonment provision.

• Eliminates the exemption for "cropping or docking as customarily practiced" from the cruelty to animals in the first degree statute, and clarifies that accepted veterinary practices only apply when performed by licensed veterinarians.

• Effective upon approval with no retroactive application to prior violations or proceedings.