Work to professional, legislative and regulatory requirements, and within the scope of ethical and personal responsibility, for animal health and welfare
Overview
This standard covers professional, legislative and regulatory requirements, and ethical and personal responsibility to maintain a duty of care for animal health and welfare in your work. It includes working within the relevant legal framework and codes of practice, placing the responsibility on the individual to know their role, responsibilities and limitations in relation to animal health and welfare.
The standard also includes the role of professional organisations and working with other animal health and welfare professionals and paraprofessionals.
This standard is suitable for paraprofessionals working in animal health and welfare.
Performance criteria
You must be able to:
- identify, analyse and evaluate the issues associated with being an animal health and welfare paraprofessional and the ways in which you are accountable for your actions
- work in accordance with the Veterinary Surgeons Act (1966) and within the limits of your authority, expertise, training, competence and experience
- assess how the needs of animals may best be provided for whilst under your duty of care
- identify, analyse and evaluate the issues associated with providing animal health and welfare services, and recognise that you are accountable for your actions
- obtain and record informed consent to handle and carry out work with an animal
- work within the current animal health and welfare and other relevant legislation, the associated codes of practice, any secondary legislation and a duty of care
- take responsibility for your decisions as part of your role
- reflect upon your own performance when carrying out your work
- plan, record and evaluate your continuing professional development
- develop and maintain working relationships with veterinary surgeons and other animal health and welfare professionals and paraprofessionals
- consult with the appropriate veterinary surgeon prior to starting work with an animal, where required
- conduct professional discussions with other professionals and paraprofessionals working in the field of animal welfare, where required
- confirm that records are kept in accordance with the current legal requirements and organisation procedures
- contribute to the ethical decision-making process, where appropriate
- reflect and evaluate on the decision-making process
- support colleagues and clients/customers who wish to raise concerns about an ethical issue
Knowledge and Understanding
You need to know and understand:
- the requirements associated with being an animal health and welfare paraprofessional and the significance of regulation
- the requirements of the Veterinary Surgeons Act (1966) in relation to your role
- the current animal health and welfare and other relevant legislation, codes of practice and organisation policies relating to your working role and responsibilities
- the role of animal health and welfare professional bodies and associations
- the concepts of “duty of care”, “negligence” and “omission” and their application to animal health and welfare professionals and paraprofessionals
- when and how to consult with an appropriate veterinary surgeon before starting to work with an animal
- how to support colleagues and clients/customers who may wish to raise concerns about unprofessional conduct (to include “whistle blowing”)
- the importance of obtaining informed consent and how to evaluate organisation procedures and systems implemented to facilitate this, where appropriate
- the records that need to be kept and their significance
- how to identify ethical issues in the workplace
- how to identify and evaluate evidence used to inform ethical decisions
- how to minimise the impact of an ethical decision
- how to reflect upon the ethical decision-making process
- the importance of continuing professional development and how to plan, review and evaluate your professional development
- your legal and professional liability when working as an animal health and welfare paraprofessional and the importance of appropriate insurance cover
Scope/range
Scope Performance
Scope Knowledge
Values
Behaviours
Skills
Glossary
Animal welfare legislation
Current legislation defines the needs of animals as follows:
England and Wales – Animal Welfare Act 2006
Owners and keepers are responsible for ensuring that the welfare needs of their animals are met. These include the need:
for a suitable environment (place to live)
for a suitable diet
to exhibit normal behaviour patterns
to be housed with, or apart from, other animals (if applicable)
to be protected from pain, suffering, injury and disease.
Scotland – Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006
Anyone who has care of an animal must provide for its needs. These needs include:
a suitable environment
a suitable diet
the ability to exhibit normal behaviour
the need to be protected from suffering, injury and disease.
Northern Ireland – Welfare of Animals Act (Northern Ireland) 2011
A person must ensure that the needs of an animal for which they are responsible are met. These needs are defined as:
its need for a suitable environment,
its need for a suitable diet,
its need to be able to exhibit normal behaviour patterns,
any need it has to be housed with, or apart from, other animals, and
its need to be protected from pain, suffering, injury and disease.
Other legislation includes:
The Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982
Paraprofessional
The exact meaning of the word “paraprofessional” is someone who works alongside a professional (from the Greek word “para” meaning side by side as in the word “parallel”). Paraprofessionals often function independently of direct professional supervision but lack the official authority of the professional.