Veterinary AI Policy Tracker
Professional veterinary associations and specialty colleges have issued position statements, professional standards, and guidance documents on artificial intelligence since 2020.
No statements match this combination yet.
2026
United Kingdom · June 2026
AI Provider Information Framework for Veterinary Practice
Draft framework, out for consultation
Sets out what AI providers should disclose to veterinary practices so tools can be adopted proportionately. Scrutiny is banded to risk: the more a tool influences records, reasoning, triage, diagnosis or treatment, the more disclosure and oversight it warrants. Requires a qualified human in charge who is competent to challenge the output, treats failure modes as being as important as best-case performance, and expects practices to explain AI use to clients and know where data goes.
United Kingdom · April 2026
Using artificial intelligence (AI) in practice — advice for the profession
Regulator advice
Applies the existing Code of Professional Conduct to AI rather than writing separate AI rules. Veterinary surgeons and registered veterinary nurses remain professionally responsible for clinical decisions, clinical decision making may not be wholly delegated to a tool, and a human must stay in the loop. Flags erosion of clinical skills through overreliance, bias and hallucination, and client confidentiality under the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR.
United Kingdom · February 11, 2026
Joint statement on the use of artificial intelligence in health and care professional education
Joint regulator statement
Six UK health and care regulators state a common position on generative AI in professional education and training, so that education providers running programs approved by more than one regulator are not subject to conflicting expectations. Issued through the education inter-regulatory group.
United States · January 21, 2026 (JVIM 40:1)
The influence, promise, and potential perils of artificial intelligence in veterinary medicine: a call for improved awareness and literacy
Specialty college task force report, peer reviewed
Argues that AI literacy and rigorous validation must precede adoption if diagnostic and workflow gains are not to come at the cost of animal care and professional autonomy. Introduces a 12-item ACVIM AI Validation Factor checklist for appraising a tool, and calls for ethical frameworks, transparency and critical oversight.
Canada · January 2026
Use of Artificial Intelligence in Veterinary Medicine — Professional Standard
Enforceable professional standard
A binding standard rather than advisory guidance. Members remain responsible and accountable for conduct when AI is used, must apply critical thinking to AI output including scribe applications, must never rely solely on AI for diagnosis or treatment, and must review AI-generated medical records for veracity, accuracy and completeness. Requires transparency with clients and consent where appropriate.
2025
United Kingdom · December 2025
BVA Policy Position on Artificial Intelligence in the Veterinary Profession
Association policy position
Eight general principles spanning clinical practice, education, research, epidemiology, government and practice management, framed around AI as a tool that supports rather than replaces the vet-led team. Includes a risk pyramid separating minimal, moderate, high and unacceptable functions, calls for veterinary involvement in AI design and validation, and recommends every veterinary workplace hold a written AI use policy.
United States + Europe · March 19, 2025 (JAVMA, June 2025)
ACVR and ECVDI position statement on artificial intelligence
Specialty college position statement, peer reviewed
Calls for good machine learning practice, transparency, error reporting, clinical expert involvement throughout development, secure patient data handling and post-implementation monitoring, with a veterinarian — preferably a board-certified radiologist or radiation oncologist — kept in the loop. States that no commercially available veterinary imaging AI product then met the required standards for transparency, validation or safety, and calls for unbiased third-party evaluation.
United States · March 2025
Regulatory Considerations of the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Veterinary Medicine
White paper with position statement
Written for state licensing boards. Covers definitions, current regulatory frameworks, unlicensed practice, standards of practice, medical recordkeeping, data storage and confidentiality, and informed consent. Identifies fabricated output, training-data bias, automation bias and the absence of premarket approval for veterinary AI tools as the principal regulatory risks.
United States · 2025
What Do Veterinary Professionals Need to Know about Artificial Intelligence in 2025?
Guidance document
A task force report covering the two applications then reaching general practice: radiology AI and AI scribing tools. Separates marketing claims from demonstrated scope, sets out how to evaluate a tool and what to ask a provider, and addresses automation bias, overinterpretation and compliance considerations.
New Zealand · 2025
AI use in veterinary services and regulation
Briefing paper
Reviews benefits, risks, applicable New Zealand law, and how the Veterinary Council of New Zealand's existing standards apply to AI use. Gives particular weight to data privacy and data sovereignty where client and patient data is processed offshore, and to algorithmic bias.
2024
Canada · December 2024
Use of Medical Devices Enabled by Artificial Intelligence in the Practice of Veterinary Medicine
Guidance document
A companion guide to the College's 2024 position statement, giving veterinarians a framework for weighing risk against mitigation when selecting AI-enabled medical devices. Notes that no single agreed set of definitions yet exists across jurisdictions, and restates that the licensed practitioner remains accountable for the choice.
United States · November 11, 2024
Policy Statement: Use of AI in Vet Med
Association policy statement
Positions the veterinarian as the authority for diagnoses, treatment protocols and recommendations, with AI as support that does not replace professional judgement, spectrum-of-care advising or empathy. Requires compliance with data protection and privacy law, informed client consent explaining the tool's benefits and limitations, and protection of records from public exposure or access by large foundation models.
United States · July 2024
CVMA Policy on the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Veterinary Medicine
Association policy
Supports applying the FDA regulatory approach already used in human medicine, names the veterinarian as the decision-making authority, and states that no current technology replaces professional judgement and clinical expertise. Calls for standards from regulatory bodies, informed client consent, and confidentiality of client and patient data.
United Kingdom · August 19, 2024 (roundtable held May 20, 2024)
RCVS AI Roundtable Report
Roundtable report
Report of a roundtable of more than 100 participants from veterinary associations, educational institutions, technology companies, other professional regulators and the public sector, convened to set the RCVS direction of travel on regulating AI across clinical practice, research and education. The starting point for the RCVS guidance and Transparency Alliance work that followed.
Canada · March 2024
Embracing Innovation and the Digital Age in Veterinary Medicine
Position statement
Frames software as a medical device as the most challenging class of digital innovation and holds that every licensed veterinarian is accountable for their practice choices in a largely unregulated market. Asks veterinarians to weigh transparency of potential bias, explainability of outputs, robust prelaunch testing, and data privacy and security, while treating regulation as an avenue for safe forward movement rather than a barrier.
2023
Canada · October 12, 2023
Artificial Intelligence in Veterinary Medicine
Position statement
Warns that claimed benefits of veterinary AI tools may not be supported by sound evidence and that, absent structured regulatory oversight in Canada, commercial diagnostic systems can reach market with little supporting evidence — leaving practitioners exposed to liability for errors. Notes that platforms built on human systems may not translate to animals, and directs readers to their provincial or territorial regulator for binding standards.
2020
Europe · Adopted September 28, 2020
Report on the Impact of Digital Technologies and Artificial Intelligence in Veterinary Education and Practice
Expert working group report
The earliest of these documents. An expert working group delivered a SWOT analysis of digital technologies and AI in veterinary education and practice, together with recommendations on the Day One Competences graduates need for responsible use, competences that the technology can itself enhance, communication trends, undergraduate and postgraduate teaching methods, and linked quality assurance.