169.4  License requirement and exceptions.
  A person shall not practice veterinary medicine in the state who is not a licensed veterinarian or the holder of a valid temporary permit issued by the board. This chapter shall not be construed to prohibit any of the following:
  1.  An employee of the federal, state, or local government from performing official duties.
  2.  A person who is a veterinary student in an accredited or approved college of veterinary medicine from performing duties or actions assigned by an instructor of the college, or acting under the supervision of a supervising veterinarian as provided in subchapter II. The board shall issue to a veterinary medicine student who attends an accredited veterinary medicine college or school and who has been certified as being competent by an instructor of such college or school to perform veterinary duties under the direction of an instructor of veterinary medicine or under the supervision of a supervising veterinarian, a certificate authorizing the veterinary medicine student to perform such functions.
  3.  A veterinarian currently licensed in another state from consulting with a licensed veterinarian in this state.
  4.  Any manufacturer, wholesaler, or retailer from advising with respect to or selling in the ordinary course of trade or business, drugs, feeds, including, but not limited to customer-formula feeds as defined in section 198.3, appliances, and other products used in the prevention or treatment of animal diseases.
  5.  The owner of an animal or the owner’s bona fide employees from caring for and treating the animal in the possession of such owner except where the ownership of the animal was transferred solely for the purpose of circumventing this chapter.
  6.  A member of the faculty of an accredited college of veterinary medicine from performing functions in the classrooms or continuing education. However, those faculty members who have professional responsibility to the owner must be licensed. A temporary permit may be granted for a period not to exceed two years to interns or residents who are on the staff of the college of veterinary medicine of Iowa state university of science and technology. Such permit shall be renewable annually upon the application of the dean of the college of veterinary medicine.
  7.  Any person from manufacturing, selling, offering for sale, or applying any pesticide, insecticide, or herbicide.
  8.  Any person from engaging in bona fide scientific research which reasonably requires experimentation involving animals.
  9.  Any veterinary auxiliary personnel when performing delegated tasks under the supervision of a supervising veterinarian as provided in subchapter II.
  10.  A graduate of a foreign college of veterinary medicine, who has or is in the process of obtaining an ECFVG certificate, when performing delegated tasks under the supervision of a supervising veterinarian as provided in subchapter II.
  11.  Any person from advising with respect to or performing accepted livestock management practices.
  12.  Any person from engaging in the full-time study of the improvement of the quality of livestock.
  13.  Any person from performing post-mortem examinations on swine or cattle.
  14.  Any person from collecting or evaluating semen from livestock or poultry, or artificial insemination of livestock and poultry.
  15.  Any person from castrating, dehorning or branding notwithstanding section 169A.14.
  16.  A person performing animal massage.
[S13, §2538-a; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §2766; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, §169.3; C79, 81, §169.4]
83 Acts, ch 115, §3; 2023 Acts, ch 155, §5 – 7, 24
Referred to in §169.33
2023 amendment to unnumbered paragraph 1 effective July 1, 2024; 
2023 Acts, ch 155, §24
2023 amendments to subsections 2, 9, and 10, effective July 1, 2024; 
2023 Acts, ch 155, §24
Subsection 16 effective July 1, 2024; 
2023 Acts, ch 155, §24
Unnumbered paragraph 1 amended
Subsections 2, 9, and 10 amended
NEW subsection 16