Protection of Animals Act 1911
Whilst there are many Acts of Parliament which are concerned with the welfare
of animals, this can be seen as the main and most important Law - the one
which underpins, and forms the basis of, most other animal welfare legislation.
It can be seen as the "grandfather of animal welfare legislation".
The main reason for the existence of other legislation (including the Veterinary
Surgeons Act and its amendments) is to ensure the welfare, and make illegal
the ill-treatment, of animals.
In essence, this Law states that it is an offence to subject an animal to
unnecessary suffering - through an act of "commission", "omission" or "being
the owner, permitting an act of commission or omission".
Clearly this Law makes it illegal to deliberately mistreat or injure an animal
but it is actually more far reaching than that...
In Law, an animal is classed as "property". If you have a dog, horse or other
domestic or farm animal or one which is legitimately "held captive" by you
- you are the owner of that animal and whilst our animals give us a great
deal of pleasure, it is our responsibility to ensure the welfare of those
animals.
Let's see how all this relates to complementary therapies...
Omission
If your animal was sick or injured and you did not seek veterinary advice
- you could (should) be prosecuted if the animal suffers unnecessarily as
a result of this neglect - you did not do what you should have done. Your
animal needed help, you are the owner, and you did nothing. Forgive the bluntness,
we are just telling it as it is.
Commission
If you were to attempt to treat an injured or sick animal yourself (in whatever
way) and as a result the animal suffered more, where this could have been
avoided through proper veterinary care - Guilty! - you have just broken the
Law and could (should) be prosecuted... Actually you are more likely to be
prosecuted under "Omission" since few people would actually do something
deliberately to cause their animal to suffer unnecessarily. In giving their
own "alternative" treatment to their animal they would, I'm sure, do this
with the best intentions but, whether through ignorance or innocence, if
the animal suffered unnecessarily they could (should) be prosecuted for failing
to do the right thing - seek veterinary advice - they have committed an act
of omission, perhaps, more than commission.
It goes without saying, but we are going to say it anyway, that the above
two circumstances do not necessarily apply in emergency situations. Any normal
person would do whatever they could to help, for example, a critically injured
animal. In the essence of time and with the absence of immediate access to
a vet you would do whatever you thought would help. Let's not get like some
countries which will remain nameless (apologies to all Americans) and sue
each other at any given opportunity up to the point where a passing doctor
would not try to help a road accident victim for fear of later being sued.
However, since using a complementary therapist would hardly be considered
in an emergency ("my dog has been run over, let's ring an aromatherapist!")
that is not especially relevant to this situation
Being the owner, permitting an act of commission or omission
...this is where it gets interesting...
If you had an injured or sick animal and you didn't seek veterinary advice
but, instead, called in someone else who treated your animal - you could
(should) both be prosecuted if the animal suffers unnecessarily.
Bearing in mind that only a vet can legally diagnose an animal's condition
and determine the most appropriate treatment, there is a good chance that
the "someone else" will not be able to correctly diagnose the condition and
begin treating, or "mis"-treating the animal. If this led to the animal's
condition deteriorating or even lasting longer than it would under veterinary
care ie. suffering unnecessarily, the person giving the treatment could be
prosecuted for commission and you could be prosecuted being the owner permitting
such treatment.
Again, this could all be done with the best intentions, but the Law is there
to protect animals, even our animals, even from ourselves!
It's simple - if you have an injured or sick animal - seek veterinary advice!
