Horse dental bill passes committee
House Bill 3202, which would remove criminal penalties against equine dentists, or teeth floaters, passed a House committee today.
The House Agriculture and Rural Development Committee approved the measure, 11-3. It now goes to the full House.
More than 75 people, mostly horse owners, jammed into a committee room and part of an overflow room to show their support for equine dentists.
The bill’s author, Rep. Don Armes, R-Faxon, said there are not enough licensed veterinarians in the state to offer equine dentistry for the approximately 325,000 horses in Oklahoma.
Rep. Brian Renegar, D-McAlester, a veterinarian, said 353 of 1,807 veterinarians practice equine dentistry in the state while there are only about 30 equine dentists in the state.
Renegar said he will continue to oppose the bill. He favors legislation that would grandfather existing equine dentists to practice without facing criminal charges but would require new ones to work under a veterinarian’s supervision.
- Michael McNutt, Capitol Bureau
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Yeah, great job guys. Let’s allow people to work on horses who are 1) not insured, 2) are not held to any standards for malpractice, 3) are not regulated by any governing body, 4) have a long history of administering sedatives and prescribing antibiotics without any medical knowledge or supervision whatsoever, and 5) arrogantly dole out unqualified veterinary advice whether they know what they are talking about or not. Yup! Great decision guys, just great. Hope the full House has more brains than the committee.