STORY

Executive Summary

Animal chiropractors serve an important role in the animal health care system and are distinct from veterinarians. Although veterinary schools and colleges do not require animal chiropractic in their curriculum, Tennessee law requires animal chiropractors to obtain a veterinary medicine degree and become licensed veterinarians to practice animal chiropractic. As a result, it is unlawful for a chiropractor who is certified in animal chiropractic, but who is not a licensed veterinarian, to practice animal chiropractic. The government is therefore preventing qualified and knowledgeable individuals from earning a living through providing chiropractic services to animals in Tennessee.  

Laura Colman, our client, is a highly trained and experienced chiropractor. Dr. Colman’s qualifications and achievements in both human and animal chiropractic are extensive. She is a licensed chiropractor in Tennessee and holds a doctorate in chiropractic from Life University in Georgia. Dr. Colman completed coursework at the Animal Chiropractic School in 2021 and now holds a certificate in animal chiropractic from the American Veterinary Chiropractic Association. To obtain the certificate, Dr. Colman completed 250 hours of coursework and passed a board examination that contained practical and written sections. Only chiropractors and veterinarians can be certified in animal chiropractic, and the requirements are the same regardless of whether the applicant is a chiropractor or veterinarian. 

Dr. Colman has been practicing animal chiropractic since 2022 and balances her practice between humans, domestic animals, and larger farm animals. Her work results in tremendous success in promoting animal well-being. For instance, she has helped dogs walk again and allowed horses to keep competing in events. Despite her impressive qualifications, expertise, and success in animal chiropractic, Dr. Colman received notice that she is being investigated by the state for the unlawful practice of veterinary medicine without a license. Dr. Colman does not hold herself out as a veterinarian nor does she practice veterinary medicine. Indeed, she routinely refers animals in need of veterinary care to veterinarians in Tennessee. Because of the investigation, Dr. Colman has stopped taking new clients in her animal chiropractic practice and is now working under a veterinarian who has told Dr. Colman that her expertise in animal chiropractic far surpasses the veterinarian’s. The investigation not only hinders her ability to help people and their animals, but it has also caused her great personal stress. She is the primary earner of her family and now worries that she will lose a significant part of her business. What’s more, because few people possess Dr. Colman’s expertise, many animals will no longer receive the chiropractic care that they need. 

The Problem

Under the Tennessee Veterinary Practice Act (“the Act”), the legislature created the Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners (“the Board”) to regulate the practice of veterinary medicine. The Board issued regulations stating that the practice of veterinary medicine includes animal chiropractic, thus subjecting animal chiropractors to the Board’s authority. Under the Act and the Board’s regulations, animal chiropractors must obtain a veterinary license, which requires a doctorate in veterinary medicine from an approved school or college of veterinary medicine. Individuals without a degree in veterinary medicine are prohibited from practicing animal chiropractic, even though veterinarians are not educated in chiropractic skills, including animal chiropractic. 

A degree in veterinary medicine is not required to obtain a certification in animal chiropractic from the American Veterinary Chiropractic Association nor is any individual with a doctorate in veterinary medicine qualified to receive such a certification without further coursework. Instead, to receive an animal chiropractic certification, individuals must be trained and educated in animal chiropractic, in addition to holding either a doctorate in veterinary medicine or in chiropractic. Consequently, many of the most qualified individuals (chiropractors certified in animal chiropractic) are prohibited from practicing animal chiropractic. 

To make matters worse, there is an extreme shortage of animal chiropractors in Tennessee. For example, there are only 20 animal chiropractors certified by the American Veterinary Chiropractic Association in Tennessee. Out of these 20, only four have degrees in veterinary medicine, while the remaining 16 have degrees in chiropractic. Requiring these 16 animal chiropractors, and future animal chiropractors, to go to veterinary school for another four years and possibly spend over $100,000 for a degree that does not train or teach them animal chiropractic, and then go through the process to become licensed veterinarians, arbitrarily denies animal chiropractors from earning a living, and reduces the number of individuals allowed to provide chiropractic services to animal in need. 

Legal Issues

We will argue that requiring an animal chiropractor to obtain a veterinary medicine license violates Dr. Colman’s right to earn a living under both the U.S. Constitution and the Tennessee Constitution. We will also argue that the Board’s regulations violate fundamental separation-of-powers principles.

First, requiring animal chiropractors to obtain a degree and professional license in a field that does not teach or perform chiropractic techniques has no rational connection to public health and safety. Moreover, requiring a veterinary license for someone who has both a doctorate in chiropractic and a certificate in animal chiropractic but no doctorate in veterinary medicine, has no rational connection to either their fitness or capacity to practice animal chiropractic. To allow veterinarians who are not trained or certified in animal chiropractic to practice animal chiropractic, and to prohibit chiropractors who are trained and certified in animal chiropractic from practicing is arbitrary, irrational, and overly burdensome. On its face, it appears the only purpose of the law is to protect veterinarians from competition in animal care services. But economic protectionism is not a legitimate government purpose. The Board cannot advance any plausible reason why requiring Dr. Colman to become a licensed veterinarian to practice animal chiropractic protects the health and safety of Tennessee residents and animals. 

Second, the Board exceeded its statutory authority when it issued regulations that defined animal chiropractic as veterinary medicine. It is hard to imagine that the Tennessee legislature intended for the Board to have the authority to regulate every form of animal medicine or therapy not ordinarily performed by practitioners of veterinary medicine. Just as human chiropractors are not considered medical doctors under state law, animal chiropractors should likewise not be considered veterinarians. If the legislature granted the Board authority to regulate any practice that may incidentally affect the well-being of an animal, then the Tennessee Veterinary Practice Act raises significant nondelegation concerns. The Act doesn’t provide sufficient guidance to the Board on what constitutes veterinary medicine. 

The Legal Team

Wen Fa is the Vice President of Legal Affairs at the Beacon Center.  

Ben Stormes is an attorney at the Beacon Center. 

Case Documents

Complaint