Tennessee committee advances bill allowing certified chiropractors to treat animals after heated debate

The House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday approved House Bill 164, a measure that establishes education and certification standards for chiropractors who provide chiropractic care to animals, after members debated animal welfare and professional scope concerns.

The bill, sponsored by Speaker Gino Marsha (Speaker Marsh), passed in committee 10-6 and advances to the House Health Committee. It requires chiropractors and veterinarians who perform animal chiropractic work to meet defined educational standards and certification requirements and creates a regulatory framework governing that practice.

Supporters said the bill formalizes an existing practice and creates minimum competency standards. Representative Gino Marsh, the bill sponsor, told the committee the legislation “establish[es] educational standards, which must be met by chiropractic physicians and veterinarians who perform animal chiropractic work.” Marsh said animal chiropractic “does not include performing surgery, dispensing or administering medications, or performing traditional veterinarian care,” and argued owners should be able to choose whether to take an animal to a chiropractor or a veterinarian.

Opponents — principally veterinarians and their professional association — said the bill would allow nonveterinarians to diagnose and treat animal conditions that can mask serious disease, risking delays in necessary veterinary care. Dr. Mary Ergen, a veterinarian in Nashville and a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association executive board, testified: “This bill allows individuals who are not veterinarians ... to diagnose and treat animals without an educated veterinarian first evaluating the animal and determining that the animal would even benefit from chiropractic therapy.” She warned that signs such as lameness or an arched back may reflect conditions that require veterinariansdiagnosis and tests (for example, endocrine disease, dental pain, internal tumors or hairline fractures).

Dr. Michael Towns, president-elect of the Tennessee Veterinary Medical Association, told the committee allowing human chiropractors to diagnose and treat animal disease would be “unprecedented” and said human chiropractors lack training, equipment and handling capability to safely identify when an animal requires veterinary care. Towns cited a case he said showed how apparent back pain was actually caused by an abdominal tumor that required surgery; he said a nonveterinarian could have delayed lifesaving treatment.

Representatives of the Tennessee Chiropractic Association and certified animal chiropractors said the training programs for animal chiropractic provide a substantive additional curriculum (the bill and testimony referenced a floor of roughly 210 hours of specialized training and continuing education requirements) and that certified practitioners already routinely coordinate with veterinarians. Tiffany Stevens, executive director of the Tennessee Chiropractic Association, said animal chiropractic “focuses on the spine, musculoskeletal system to help animals move better, feel better, and perform better” and described the bill as a public-protection measure to set minimum competency standards.

The committee considered two amendments. An amendment by Representative Dawn Alexander would have required chiropractors who treat animals to establish a provider agreement with a licensed veterinarian and directed the chiropractic board to develop rules in conjunction with the veterinary board; the committee rejected that amendment. The committee adopted a different amendment offered by Speaker Marsh that substantially rewrote the bill before the final vote.

During questioning, veterinarians emphasized that unlike human patients, animals cannot report symptoms and often present similar outward signs for very different underlying causes; veterinarians argued that initial veterinary evaluation and the ability to order diagnostic testing (blood work, x-rays, CT/MRI) are important safeguards. Chiropractor witnesses said certified animal chiropractors evaluate animals, make differential diagnoses, and refer to veterinarians when appropriate, and that the certification standards (including initial coursework and annual continuing education) create guardrails.

The committee record shows multiple members expressing concern about precedent and statutory scope: some members described the issue as a tension between owner choice and professional oversight, while others said the bill merely recognizes and regulates an existing practice. The committee debate included testimony from both practicing veterinarians and certified chiropractors and questions from several representatives exploring training, typical diagnostic processes, and how practitioners would coordinate care.

The committee vote was 10 in favor and 6 opposed; the bill now goes to the House Health Committee for further consideration.

Provisions that would become law under the bill, as described in committee, include defined educational thresholds for chiropractors who treat animals, certification and continuing education requirements, and a regulatory role for relevant licensing boards to set implementing rules. The bill explicitly disclaims veterinary activities such as performing surgery or administering pharmaceuticals.

The committee heard from a range of witnesses and members during the debate; proponents argued the bill protects consumers and standardizes training for a practice that already exists in Tennessee, while opponents said the change risks misdiagnosis and delayed veterinary care. The record shows the committee adopted the sponsoramendment and advanced the bill to Health by roll-call vote.