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7. FAWC consulted widely with interested parties including the veterinary profession, animal protection societies and the industry. Members also saw the procedure performed first-hand. A list of those who provided information is at Appendix A.
8. The responses to consultation showed there to be no dispute that per rectum ultrasonography in bovines can be carried out effectively by qualified veterinary surgeons. In addition, all who gave evidence agreed the procedure could be undertaken without problem by lay persons trained to an acceptable standard. Views differed as to whether the procedure should be considered, for legal purposes, as an act of veterinary surgery but examination of this legal issue was outside the scope of our investigation.
9. Although FAWC could find no evidence of reported welfare problems following incorrect use of the procedure, we were convinced that per rectum ultrasonography (and other invasive procedures of this nature - see paragraphs 15 and 16) in bovines had the potential to cause harm. We concluded that the concept of any non-veterinarian carrying out the operation without first receiving a proper course of instruction was unacceptable and would put animals at risk of serious injury such as perforation of the rectal wall. However, we did not conclude that the performance of the procedure should be restricted to veterinary surgeons.
10. At present there are no specific legislative controls which cover the animal welfare aspects of this procedure. The general provisions of the Agriculture (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1968 provide some protection in that it is an offence to cause any livestock on agricultural land unnecessary pain or unnecessary distress. However, these provisions do not require the training of operators. We believe that it would be possible to make specific controls under Section 2 of the 1968 Act to require training before the procedure is carried out.