Request By:
Charles T. Mattingly, Esq.
Marion County Attorney
10 Court Square
Lebanon, Kentucky 40033
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; By: Thomas R. Emerson, Assistant Attorney General
This is in reply to your letter stating that a local veterinarian has approached you concerning the question of whether or not the fiscal court is required to have a designated veterinarian to act in all matters relative to animals. You seek the opinion of this office as to the duty of the fiscal court concerning the matter.
At one time there were statutory provisions dealing with the county livestock inspector and the duties and functions of the county livestock inspector. KRS 257.280 required the fiscal court of each county to appoint a county livestock inspector who was to be a licensed veterinarian if there was one in the county. KRS 257.290 provided in part that the county livestock inspector was the representative of the State Board of Agriculture and under the direction of the State Veterinarian.
KRS 257.280 and 257.290 were repealed by the Kentucky General Assembly during its 1978 session. See 1978 Acts, Chapter 118, § 19, effective June 17, 1978. There are no existing statutory provisions requiring the fiscal courts to appoint county livestock inspectors or county veterinarians. If your county encounters problems involving communicable diseases of livestock and livestock sanitation or you need additional information in these areas, we suggest you contact Dr. Tom S. Maddox, State Veterinarian, Kentucky Department of Agriculture, Division of Livestock Sanitation, 635 Commanche Trail, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601.