Rhode Island § 5-25-8 - Veterinary Practice

§ 5-25-8. Penalty for unauthorized practice of veterinary medicine.

Any person who is not lawfully authorized to practice veterinary medicine and is not registered or exempt from registration, as defined in this chapter, who practices or attempts to practice veterinary medicine or who holds himself or herself out to the public as a practitioner of veterinary medicine, surgery, or dentistry, whether by signs, words, advertisements, listings in directories, the use of the title “doctor” or any abbreviation of that word or any title including “V.S.,” or by the use of any other means implying a practitioner of veterinary medicine or any of its branches; fraudulently uses any posted degree, diploma, or certificate implying a practitioner of veterinary medicine or any of its branches; or who opens an office or maintains an establishment or facilities for the purpose of or with the intention of practicing veterinary medicine is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction, shall be fined not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or be imprisoned not exceeding three (3) years and upon a subsequent conviction shall be fined not exceeding five thousand dollars ($5,000), nor be imprisoned not exceeding five (5) years, or be both fined and imprisoned.