TITLE 43 PROFESSIONS AND BUSINESSES

Section 50. Veterinarians and Veterinary Technicians, 43-50-1 through 43-50-110.

ARTICLE 3 LICENSING

43-50-45. Unlawful acts; penalties; injunctions.

1. It shall be unlawful for any person to practice veterinary medicine without a valid license or for any person to use the designation veterinarian, licensed veterinarian, or any other designation indicating licensure status, including abbreviations, or hold themselves out as a veterinarian unless duly licensed as such.
2. It shall be unlawful for any person to use the designation licensed veterinary technician, licensed veterinary technologist, or any other designation indicating licensure status, including abbreviations, or hold themselves out as a licensed veterinary technician or licensed veterinary technologist unless duly licensed as such.
3. Any person who violates subsection (a) or (b) of this Code section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished as provided in this Code section, provided that each act of an unlawful practice shall constitute a distinct and separate offense.
4. Upon being convicted a first time under this Code section, such person shall be punished by a fine of not more than $500.00 for each offense. Upon being convicted a second or subsequent time under this Code section, such person shall be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000.00 for each offense, imprisonment for not more than 12 months, or both such fine and imprisonment.
5. The board or any citizen of this state may bring an action to enjoin any person from practicing veterinary medicine without a valid license. If a court finds that the person is violating, or is threatening to violate, this article, it shall enter an injunction restraining him or her from such unlawful acts.
6. The successful maintenance of an action based on any one of the remedies set forth in this Code section shall in no way prejudice the prosecution of an action based on any other of the remedies.

(Code 1933, § 84-1512, enacted by Ga. L. 1965, p. 92, § 1; Code 1981, §43-50-33; Code 1981, §43-50-45, as redesignated by Ga. L. 2003, p. 615, § 1-1; Ga. L. 2018, p. 770, § 3/HB 956.)

The 2018 amendment, effective July 1, 2018, substituted the present provisions of subsection (a) for the former provisions, which read: "Any person who practices veterinary medicine without a valid license in violation of this article shall be guilty of the misdemeanor offense of practicing veterinary medicine without a license and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished as provided in this Code section, provided that each act of such unlawful practice shall constitute a distinct and separate offense."; added subsections (b) and (c); redesignated former subsections (b) and (c) as present subsections (d) and (e), respectively; substituted "If a court" for "If the court" near the beginning of the second sentence of subsection (e); and redesignated former subsection (d) as present subsection (f).