Veterinary Services Tax Removed from the California Budget

This is a great victory for the CVMA and its grass roots efforts. The Governor was thinking that veterinarians a re a small group. He was mistaken. A tax on veterinary care would affect pet owners or 63% of households. Pet owners joined the CVMA and they were heard in Sacramento.

clipped from veterinarynews.dvm360.com

California dumps vet tax proposal

Legislators finally passed a 17-month budget during after overnight session Feb. 19 after months of negotiation. The final bill, approved by state Senate and Assembly, does not include a veterinary service tax included in previous versions of the budget proposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The governor’s plan was harshly criticized by veterinarians, who say the tax would have put a huge burden on pet owners and compromised public health. The California Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) also opposed the tax on the grounds that it would have made veterinary medicine the only taxed healthcare service in the state.

Brown Pelicans Make a Come Back In California

clipped from www.noozhawk.com

Captain’s Log: Brown Pelican Takes Flight from Endangered List

Chalk up another success for wildlife managers and researchers. At its Feb. 5 meeting, the California Fish and Game Commission voted unanimously to remove the California brown pelican from the state endangered species list. This is the first time the commission has ever voted to delist an endangered species as a result of its recovery.

Animal Cruelty Crack Down in LA

clipped from www.latimes.com

Animal cruelty crackdown in Los Angeles has results

Furious that his girlfriend had broken up with him and stopped taking his calls, Steven Butcher decided to take his anger out on the couple’s small puppy.

“Every time you . . . don’t pick up the phone, I am beating the dog,” Butcher said in an angry voice-mail message he left for his ex-girlfriend. In a later message, as the dog yelped and cried in the background, he said: “You got some more of the dog getting beat.”

The efforts by L.A. authorities and others throughout the country have been propelled by a growing public disgust for such abuse and mounting evidence of a link between animal cruelty and other types of crime.

Science Blogs: Medicine and Health

Governor Schwarzenegger’s proposal to add a sales tax on veterinary services

CVMA ACTION ALERT:
Governor Schwarzenegger recently announced his plans to add a sales tax on veterinary services as part of his budget plan to stimulate the California economy. This was part of a larger combination of program cuts and revenue increases to solve the multi-billion dollar budget shortfall. It is particularly disturbing that veterinary services were included with “appliance and furniture repair, vehicle repair and golf.” All of the other healing arts professions were excluded from the sales tax proposal.
A special session of the Legislature must be convened to approve the Governor’s plan. The proposal would need to be approved by the Legislature with a two-thirds majority of both the Assembly and the Senate.
The CVMA is strongly opposed to this proposal. Our legislative team has been working hard to get sales tax on veterinary services removed from the Governor’s proposal. We know you are concerned for the welfare of your patients, the difficult choices your clients may need to make if the cost of veterinary care increases, more animals being abandoned to shelters, increased euthanasia, and the overall strain placed on small businesses.
It is imperative that the voice of the veterinary profession is heard with respect to this important issue. We urge you to write personal letters to the Governor, your state representatives and their leadership expressing your concerns. We also encourage you to get your clients involved and ask them to write letters as well. It is easy to do. View the CVMA Fact Sheet and contact information. Visit the Legislative Action Center for contact information for your state representatives.
Your letter should be mailed directly to the Governor with copies forwarded to key members of the Legislature, including your local representatives. The letter should be on your practice letterhead, and if possible we would appreciate it if you would fax the CVMA a copy of your letter as well at (916) 646-9156.
If you have any questions, please call the CVMA office at 1(800) 655-2862.
Thank you for your assistance,
William Grant II, DVM
CVMA President

Baxter Black, Cowboy Poet and Veterinarian, Discusses Shortage of Cow Docs

clipped from www.selahnews.com

Food animal veterinarian solution

The livestock industry and rural veterinarians are becoming resigned to the lack of newly graduated vet students interested in practicing food animal medicine. FACT: only 5 percent of DVMs graduating from U.S. vet schools in 2007 entered predominantly large animal practices.

This shortage is manifested by the difficulty of rural veterinarians to hire new graduates. It is also a problem for cattle farmers nationwide who run a small herd along with crops. These small farmers are the 80 percent who oversee 20 percent of the cattle.