09/28/2024
Your ballot will be arriving in your mailbox very soon. Please take the time to educate yourself and your friends about Proposition 129. While the introduction of a mid level veterinary practitioner may sound like a good thing, there are far too many questions and unknowns. This is an attempt to mislead voters!
Currently there are no parameters, no education plan and no written or approved curriculum for this potential job title/ position. In the end Proposition 129 is asking voters to approve or deny something that has not been defined.
As proposed, Prop 129 would allow individuals with inadequate training (the prop proposes mostly on-line instruction and a short internship) to perform procedures and surgery on your pet. Though they would be "under supervision of a veterinarian," they haven't had enough education to understand the details of what they are doing.
Recently the state of Colorado passed a bill requiring licensure for veterinary technicians, working under direct, indirect or immediate supervision of a licensed veterinarian. Proposition 129 will change the Colorado Practice Act in its entirety, harming individuals that have worked to complete veterinary technician requirements and harming the consumer by allowing unsafe practices by inadequately trained individuals.
Big corporations and universities are the supporters of this proposition. Why, you ask? Corporations will utilize this new role to increase their profits. They will continue to charge clients the same amount of money for a procedure, but they will be able to pay a VPA much less than they would pay a licensed veterinarian. This will not only undermine the Colorado Veterinary Practice Act, it will also harm consumers and their beloved pets by allowing inadequately trained individuals to perform procedures they are not properly trained to perform, potentially creating life threatening situations. Universities will further exploit students by burying them in debt for a position that does not exist!
Notably concerning, The Denver Dumb Friends League has donated $1 million and the ASPCA has donated $250,000 in support of Proposition 129.
Not a single professional veterinary organization supports proposition 129.
You can find the AVMA stance below. Please read and make an informed decision.
Please share, knowledge is power!
https://ballotpedia.org/Colorado_Proposition_129,_Veterinary_Professional_Associate_Initiative_(2024)
Colorado Proposition #129 will ask Colorado voters this November whether the state should establish the position of veterinary professional associate (VPA).
