Category: Timely Topics

Updated HI State Laws Related to Animals

The following are law changes passed in 2021:

New: Animal sexual assault https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol14_Ch0701-0853/HRS0711/HRS_0711-1109_0008.htm

Amended: Tethering https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol14_Ch0701-0853/HRS0711/HRS_0711-1109.htm

New: Veterinary emergency care https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol10_Ch0436-0474/HRS0471/HRS_0471-0017.htm

New: Veterinary mandatory reporting https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol10_Ch0436-0474/HRS0471/HRS_0471-0018.htm

Microchipping, statewide:
Amended: https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol03_Ch0121-0200D/HRS0143/HRS_0143-0002.htm
New: https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol03_Ch0121-0200D/HRS0143/HRS_0143-0002_0002.htm

Upcoming free training on the role of veterinarians in identifying animal abuse:

Tuesday, May 3rd, 10:00-11:15am HST
https://www.justiceclearinghouse.com/webinar/the-forgotten-partner-in-responding-to-animal-abuse-the-veterinarian/ (registration required)

HB 1598 Hearing Notice 2/8/2022 – Testimony Needed!

HB 1598 will be heard on Tuesday February 8, 2022 at 2pm by the House Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce via videoconference. Please submit written testimony in support of this bill which will amend Chapter 471, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to better define the practice and parameters of veterinary medicine and veterinary telemedicine to protect Hawaii consumers and their pets from inadequate, improper, or unlicensed veterinary care. In addition, to address the current shortage of licensed veterinarians in Hawaii, this bill will also provide for the temporary permitting of out-of-state veterinarians and ensure international veterinary school graduates of both AVMA Council on Education and AAVSB approved programs are able to qualify for licensure examination in Hawaii. For more background on this bill, see this post.

SB 2798 Hearing Notice 2/7/2022 – Testimony Needed!

SB 2798 will be heard on Monday February 7, 2022 at 1pm by the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Environment via videoconference. Please submit written testimony in support of this bill which will amend Chapter 471, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to better define the practice and parameters of veterinary medicine and veterinary telemedicine to protect Hawaii consumers and their pets from inadequate, improper, or unlicensed veterinary care. In addition, to address the current shortage of licensed veterinarians in Hawaii, this bill will also provide for the temporary permitting of out-of-state veterinarians and ensure international veterinary school graduates of both AVMA Council on Education and AAVSB approved programs are able to qualify for licensure examination in Hawaii. For more background on this bill, see this post.

Legislative Update 2022

The Hawaii Veterinary Medical Association (HVMA) seeks to amend Chapter 471, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to better define the practice and parameters of veterinary medicine and veterinary telemedicine to protect consumers and their pets from inadequate, improper, or unlicensed veterinary care.  Further, because there is a shortage of licensed veterinarians in Hawaii, HVMA is proposing to provide for the temporary permitting of out-of-state veterinarians and providing for international veterinary school graduates to qualify for licensure examination in Hawaii.

The COVID-19 pandemic and its associated restrictions brought about consumer demand for telehealth in the field of veterinary medicine. Telemedicine has allowed consumers more access to veterinary services for their pets, particularly in areas where access to veterinary care is limited.  However, HVMA is aware that the use of telemedicine may also be abused without an established veterinary-client-patient relationship.  Without actual physical examination of a pet, veterinary services rendered through telemedicine alone can be inadequate and below the standard of veterinary care. The addition of telehealth definitions and the telemedicine section will help to clarify the practice of veterinary telemedicine and assist the Hawaii Board of Veterinary Medicine in ensuring consumers in Hawaii receive proper and licensed veterinary telemedicine services.

Additionally, the pandemic highlighted the shortage of veterinarians available to provide specialty and routine veterinary care for Hawaii’s people and their pets. At times, veterinary emergency hospitals were unable to operate 24/7 and surgeon schedules were completely booked for months due to the inability to fill these staffing shortages by temporary permit. In one specific case, there was a veterinary surgeon within the state that could have assisted during this period, but due to her international veterinary school degree, was unable to sit for Hawaii’s state licensing exam due to a technicality in the administrative rules. These amendments are critically important to prevent such veterinary care shortages in the future, and ensure that all qualified veterinarians are allowed to sit for the Hawaii state licensing exam.

This bill has currently been introduced to the House (HB 1598) by Representatives Johanson, Hashem, and Nishimoto; and into the Senate (SB 2798) by Senators Lee, Gabbard, Keith-Agaran, Misalucha, Acasio, Ihara, and San Buenaventura . Please take the time to thank them for their support, and write your local representative to ask for theirs!

African Swine Fever

African Swine Fever (ASF) virus is a highly contagious Asfivirus that can cause serious disease and death in domestic and feral swine. The disease originated in Africa, then spread to Europe (2007) and Asia (2018). In 2021, the disease was detected in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, marking the first time the disease was diagnosed in the western hemisphere in 40 years.

ASFV is transmitted directly between pigs or indirectly via Ornithodoros ticks, ingestion of infected meat, or fomites. Meat from infected animals can remain infectious for up to 5 months.

After exposure, the incubation period is between 3-19 days. In the peracute form, sudden death may be observed. In the acute form, pigs demonstrate high fever, vomiting, diarrhea, abortion, and mortality (up to 100%). Less virulent subacute or chronic forms are often seen with less intense symptoms and lower mortality. A small number of animals can become lifelong carriers. No vaccine or treatment for this disease exists. The disease does not infect humans and poses no food safety threat.

International travelers should understand the risk of bringing ASF into the US, declare items and farm visits to US Customs, and avoid farms or locations with pigs for at least 5 days upon return.

Suicide Prevention Training

Veterinary medicine is a community, and a community supports its members. For that reason, the AVMA is offering free training in suicide prevention to all veterinary professionals. QPR gatekeeper training — short for “question, persuade, refer” — teaches people without professional mental health backgrounds to recognize the signs that someone may be considering suicide, establish a dialogue and guide the person to seek professional help.

Veterinarians, veterinary students, technicians, assistants, practice managers and all other veterinary professionals are now eligible to take this free online training.

Access training resources here

Greater Good Charities Bring the Good Fix Program to Kauai

Submitted by Leilani Sim-Godbehere, DVM

Greater Good Charities will be offering a gift to our Kauai community through their Good Fix program. This is one of the charities that was instrumental in the Paws Across the Pacific program in Oct. 2020 when over 600 shelter animals were flown from the main Hawaiian islands to the U.S. mainland for adoption.

The Good Fix program will establish a humane mass trap-neuter-release program targeting the free-roaming cat overpopulation problem on Kauai. Some owned cats will also be included in the totals. Good Fix will work with local volunteers and will also deploy a team of specialized trappers throughout the island to maximize the number of cats sterilized. The program will encompass dual licensed HQHVSN (High Quality High Volume Spay Neuter) vets and MASH style experts to complete the work. The goal is to sterilize 15,000 cats over the year in 6 rounds. Sterilized cats will also be microchipped and FVRCP vaccinated. Dates are set for Oct 3-8 & 11-16, 2021; Jan 23-28, 2022; Jan 31-Feb 5, Mar 27-Apr 1 & Apr 4-9, 2022.

Besides public outreach, Greater Good Charities is inviting our veterinary community to learn more and participate in their program! Vets/techs interested in participating can contact the veterinary medical director of Greater Good Charities, Dr. Ruth Parkin, at ruthparkin@greatergood.org for an application. It is all volunteer work, but travel and accommodations for the medical team members who commit to an entire clinic session would be covered. Any non-medical persons interested in helping with trapping or other volunteer aspects can also contact Dr. Ruth Parkin. Participating vets will also be offered $150 vouchers to offset cost of dog spays for clients who might benefit from the financial support.

There is a plan in progress to address relocation of cats in certain wildlife/bird sensitive areas. It may become part of a “farm/barn-cat” program. The team is aware that this topic is high priority. The team is also aware of the Toxoplasma issues on island and will be including educational information on their community outreach to encourage the public about the importance of controlling overall free-roaming cat numbers.

Dr. Ruth Parkin and Dr. Julie Levy made a productive initial visit to Kauai on June 22 and 23,2021 for a site visit and to meet with local veterinarians and groups involved with animal welfare. They were delighted at the warm welcome they received and they look forward to working for the benefit of Kauai and hopefully our sister islands as well.

Legislative Update

New animal laws enacted in 2021:

Act 31 – Establishes the crime of sexual assault of an animal. Standard veterinary, animal husbandry, and conformation judging practices are exempt. Effective June 7, 2021.

Act 91 – Protects veterinarians from civil liability for rendering emergency aid to an animal, even if an owner is not available to consent to care. Requires veterinarians to report suspected animal cruelty or the injury or death of an animal as part of a staged fight. Protects veterinarians from civil liability for making such reports. Effective June 25, 2021.

Act 182 – Bans the unsupervised tethering of a dog under the age of six months. Bans tethering in a configuration that endangers the dog. Bans the use of tow or log chains to tether a dog. Effective July 6, 2021.

Act 5, Special Session – Requires dog and cat owners to have microchip identification implanted in their dogs and cats, and to register the microchip number and the owner’s contact information with a microchip registration company. Requires animal organizations to implant a microchip in all stray dogs and cats in their custody that do not have microchip identification. Effective January 1, 2022.

Panleukopenia Cases

Submitted by Kasey Carter, DVM

The Hawaii Cat Café (a Hawaiian Humane Society offsite adoption partner) closed to the public for two weeks starting Tuesday, July 27 due to a confirmed case of panleukopenia.  The Hawaii Cat Café has dedicated their space for the next two weeks to quarantine & monitor cats who were potentially exposed.  They are working closely with the Hawaiian Humane Society veterinary team to deliver diagnostics and care as needed.  Over thirty cats have been adopted from Hawaii Cat Café over the last two weeks – these adopters have been contacted to inform them of the panleukopenia exposure and have been offered a physical exam and vaccination through our Veterinary Services department.
 
To date, we have no additional confirmed cases in our cat population, which includes our other partners.  Our vaccine protocols include vaccination of all animals on intake, vaccination of kittens/puppies between 4-18 weeks every two weeks while in our care, and to vaccinate dogs and cats >18 weeks twice (if they are in our care at least 2 weeks).

If you have any questions or concerns or see any suspect/positive panleukopenia cases, please reach out directly to Dr. Carter at kcarter@hawaiianhumane.org

Thank you!

Specialty/ER Service Interruption

The Hawaii Board of Veterinary Medicine has recently reinterpreted Hawaii’s veterinary practice law and begun rejecting the practice of veterinary sponsorship. This practice previously allowed many out-of-state specialists to share their services with our clients on a short-term or intermittent basis. All of us have benefited from referring our clients to visiting dermatologists, radiologists, surgeons, as well as our few emergency care centers that operate 24/7. This interruption in veterinary sponsorship has limited service hours at emergency clinics and worsened the backlog of surgery cases in Hawaii.

If your clients are being affected, please encourage them to file a complaint with the DCCA and Board of Veterinary Medicine to insist that they must immediately return to honoring the practice of veterinary sponsorship in Hawaii as clearly allowed by HRS 471(2)-5.