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The following is a general summary only, for a comprehensive analysis of animal cruelty law and veterinary responsibilities pertaining to reporting requirements in individual states, you are strongly advised to review the full text of the pertinent statute and regulations, and/or consult a local attorney knowledgeable in this field. The current laws and regulations can be found on most state legislative web sites.
State veterinary medical associations are also excellent sources of information regarding a veterinarian's responsibilities under state law. Also note that laws and regulations are amended occasionally, so be sure to be working with the current version.
Summary:
The states that require a licensed veterinarian to report instances of animal abuse/cruelty in either statute or regulation include the following: Arizona, California, Colorado (effective July 1, 2007), Illinois, Kansas (failure to report may result in disciplinary action), Maryland (statute: encourages veterinarians to report and regulation indicates veterinarian should report), Minnesota, Oregon, Oklahoma, West Virginia (duty to do so) and Wisconsin (specifically animal fighting).
The states that specifically provide civil lawsuit immunity for good faith reporting, unless otherwise specified, include the following: Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho (immunity for investigation, immunity for reporting seems to be implied), Illinois, Florida (investigations, euthanizing a suffering animal, reporting implied), Kansas (privilege for records waived), Maine (veterinarian reporting or testifying), Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Maryland, New York, New Hampshire (immunity for participation in investigation), North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Washington (immunity for destroying a suffering animal), Vermont, Oklahoma, and West Virginia. Virginia provides immunity where a veterinarian treats an animal in distress and the animal cannot be located. South Carolina provides immunity for rendering services to animals in distress, which could include animal cruelty. North Dakota provides immunity where custody of the animal is taken.
States that address animal cruelty reporting or immunity in statute or regulation, but do not necessarily mandate reporting, include the following: Florida (investigation and allows a veterinarian to euthanize a suffering animal without liability), Georgia (veterinarian may make a report), Idaho (provides immunity for investigation/report), Indiana (immunity for veterinarians and registered veterinary technicians), Maine (veterinarian may report), Massachusetts (immunity), Michigan (immunity), Mississippi (immunity), New Hampshire (immunity for participation in investigation), New York (veterinarian may report), North Carolina (immune from civil and criminal liability as well as liability from professional disciplinary action), Texas (immunity), Rhode Island (immunity), Vermont (immunity), Virginia (where a veterinarian treats an animal in distress and the owner cannot be located, immunity is granted), West Virginia (immunity) Washington (immunity for destroying a suffering animal) and South and North Dakota with immunity as specified above.
Finally, in Maine, in cases where a veterinarian has reasonable cause to suspect that an animal is the subject of cruelty or neglect, the veterinary may report the suspected violation to the commissioner or the commissioner's designee. However, a veterinarian must report suspected instances of aggravated animal cruelty to the commissioner or commissioner's designee.
Section 21 of the AVMA Model Veterinary Practice Act encourages veterinarians to report animal abuse.
A 2001 article in JAVMA addresses this issue as well. http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/mar01/s030101b.asp
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= AVMA/SAVMA Members Only
