Good practice: clear and complete veterinary certification
An experienced veterinary practitioner recently contacted us to say that they’d noted a marked deterioration in the clarity and completeness of the vaccination certificates presented to their clinic in recent years.
They told us they regularly see vaccination certificates, often from big vet clinics, that do not identify:
- the owner (or breeder-owner), or
- the certifying vet’s name, address and other contact details.
Re the latter, they said that, instead of the vet’s name and details, there’s often just a “squiggle of someone’s signature”.
Guideline 19 - Veterinary certificates
The Board’s expectations in relation to veterinary certificates, including vaccination, de-sexing and death certificates, are set out in Guideline 19 - Veterinary certificates. The following extract from that guideline specifies the information that must be included in a certificate.
A certificate issued by the veterinary practitioner must contain sufficient, complete and accurate detail to ensure its purpose is clear. A veterinary certificate contains no less than the following information:
- identifying information about the veterinary practitioner, including their unique registration number
- identifying information about the animal species and/or breed, sex, age, and a unique identifier such as a microchip tag or source number [NOTE microchip preferred if the animal is chipped]
- the name of the owner at the time of the certification
- the purpose of the certificate and the assessment of the veterinary practitioner related to this purpose
- any limitations of the assessment due to external factors
- the date of the assessment and the period it remains current (where relevant)
- any information related to the use of specific diagnostics aids or veterinary services related to the purpose of the certificate, e.g., batch number of a vaccine.
Only certify what you know and are sure about
The Board has also received complaints from persons who had purchased domestic animals from breeders and claimed that, soon after purchase, they discovered their animal had a congenital illness, a potentially life-threatening defect or was in poor condition generally. Complainants express concerns that the paperwork provided about the animal did not indicate there were any issues with the animal’s health or welfare.
Under the Code of practice for the operation of breeding and rearing businesses made under Section 59 of the Domestic Animals Act 1994 (the Act), in specified circumstances veterinary practitioners must examine and vaccinate animals in regulated breeding establishments and complete vaccination certificates and health checks (or make medical records) for those animals.
While this Code is administered by Animal Welfare Victoria, the Board expects that certificates and medical records issued by a vet in such circumstances would follow the requirements in the Board’s Guidelines on veterinary medical records (G7), veterinary certificates (G19) and managing conflicts of interest (G11).
The Board expects veterinary practitioners to:
- carefully examine relevant animals individually, paying particular attention for signs of possible congenital conditions or welfare issues
- make detailed contemporaneous records of their findings
- only certify matters which they have personally ascertained, within their areas of professional expertise and knowledge
- only certify matters where there is no actual or perceived conflict of interest in them doing so
- clearly state their name and registration number on all paperwork.
Any concerns about the welfare of animals at a breeding establishment should be reported to relevant authorities, e.g. the RSPCA.
Relevant resources