Wyoming committee considers bill to let trained nonveterinarians perform cattle pregnancy checks

The Joint Agriculture Committee heard a Legislative Service Office presentation on a draft bill to allow certified nonveterinarians to perform bovine pregnancy determinations. Anna Johnson, staff attorney for LSO, told the committee the draft (27LSO0076) would permit a person to apply for board certification, require an application and fee, proof of age and relevant criminal-history checks, and a sworn statement from a Wyoming veterinarian attesting to the applicant’s ability and, if ultrasound is used, 90% accuracy.

Johnson said the draft sets administrative timelines and renewal rules: the board must approve or deny a completed certification application within 30 days; certifications would expire every two years and require a renewal application documenting five hours of continuing education. The draft would also make practicing bovine pregnancy determinations without a veterinary license or unexpired certification a violation of the veterinary practice act, carrying misdemeanor consequences. "A person applying for that certification would fill out a board approved application and then pay a fee," Johnson said, and added the board would be required to promulgate rules and could set effective dates in sections.

Committee members asked whether the draft should be limited to cattle or extended to other livestock, how the sworn‑statement requirement would be policed, whether out‑of‑state certifications would be recognized, and whether the draft imposes new burdens compared with current exemptions for owner operators. LSO attorneys said the sworn statement and the course-based certification were modeled on other states’ approaches and that most states that permit nonveterinarians require some credentialing. The committee asked LSO to draft language clarifying the scope and to return a bill draft for the next committee meeting.