Do you know how wrong it is ???

Question

It is obvious that everyone here that answers a question and puts down ' I'm A vet ' isn't actually a vet. If you check the other questions they ask, and the advice some of them give.. It is very apparent.

I don't know about legality, but am sure that it's illegal somewhere to say you are a vet and give advice and you aren't actually a vet.. You give people a false sense of security by saying you are a vet.. Most questions shouldn't be asked here anyhow, they should be asked of a vet.. If you are NOT a vet please don't say you are..
People are taking these answers as gospel and if you aren't really a vet, you shouldn't give that impression.

Ok, so here is the actual question...
Is it Illegal or just morally wrong to pose as a vet and give answers to questions claiming to be a vet?

I'll be honest, There are some here that most definately are vets.. But there are a couple that give answers that .. Well let's just say I have read better answers posted by an 8 year old..

Answer 1

Hello..KUDO'S & Excellent ..I turn them in when I know they can't possibly be a vet, just by their answers etc..so I can tell they aren't, vets, plus tho I am not a vet, I do know alot about animals & if or when I think someone NEEDS a VET, I tell them !!! I agree it is VERY VERY WRONG for them to do this, so those who ask questions need to also be weary of those in here claiming to be vets..& you usually can tell by their answers, how they answer ( like they don't use the word - duh, etc. ) and the questions they ask..Yahoo can't possibly keep track of everyone in here, so the Users of Answers - especially us adults - like me ) have to help in getting rid of such people or any bad person in here who may be harmful to children or pets...I love Yahoo Answers & don't want it so abused, etc Yahoo has to take it down...Take Care, KUDO's & TY :)

Answer 2

I must say I do agree what you are saying here and I do know who you are talking about. It scares me because people seem to listen to people when they say they are a vet...if they were thinking right... a vet , like a doctor, would never give advice with out seeing the patient. I think it is morally wrong to pose as a vet because you can really hurt not only the animal but the owner. Illegal because it is fraud. This also goes along with vet tech , a rescue person. Some of these answer I read I just shake my head. This person and we know who she is..has to stop doing this , not only morally but for the people who will listen to her cause she said she is a vet. It really scares me. Thank you for posting this..I notice the last time this was brought up it was deleted. People need to use their own judgment and take things what people say with a grain of salt. Not everyone here is what they say they are. Like DP said here I have also read better answer posted by an 8 year old. You need to learn to read between the lines. Read their words.. a vet would not use the word wet stuff???? I hope you get a lot of feed back on this.. something really needs to be done about this before something bad happens cause of one saying she is a vet.

Adding this.. Amen to you JR, you did a pretty good job there.

Answer 3

There are very few people here who I would believe are actually a vet. I can tell by their answers and also because I have e-mailed them and they were wonderful enough to e-mail me back. To post that your a vet and by your answers and your demeanor it is clear that you are not is fraud, at least to me it is.
To have such misleading answers and the tone to be nasty to boot is just not acceptable. No vet would ever do that to a pet owner, especially one that may be very upset or just trying to get some information on how to be a better pet owner.
Plus what vet has the time to spare to hop on to Q&A to spend so much time here. I am truely gratefull for the ligitmate one or 2 who can give us a few hours a week but then I do know who is not a vet.
It concerns me very much to see "I am a VET" when the answer is clearly not a professional one. The person on the other computer it taking them at their word and they should not be.
Yes I agree with everyone else.
If your not a vet then please don't say you are. This is real life not a TV program.

Answer 4

Yeah its getting old and people are listening. Its unfortunate that the people are taking the advice to heart so its not just the person giving false information fault but also the ones asking.

I would say it is only morally wrong but I am concerned someones pet is going to be jeopardized because someone thinks they have had a dog their entire life they know all the answers.

I do believe some of the vet techs and their is a vet nurse are legit but not many of the techs really know what they are talking about either.

I am impressed with a few of the breeders that answer questions and they seem to be decent people that do care. However the other hilljacks that want to tell someone how to breed their mutt should be shot.

And Thanks sniffy for your link. So which ones have you rescued?? You have courtesy postings not your rescues. Did you not get the petfinder email a while back we were not to cross post from other shelters?

There have been vets on here but they don't stick around long. They realize very quickly that it doesn't matter if you give them the correct answer they just want someone to agree with them.

This is not the place for definite answers its supposed to be for us to share experiences and get more ideas from each other.

Answer 5

It is Illegal to do this. In the state of Indiana, the code is clear about this. There is a woman in this state that has advertised that she has been a surgical vet tech for 10 years now and is a breeder selling puppies. Well, the attorney general is going after her for this, as she has never been a licensed vet tech and is not now! So the Indiana code says that she is violating the law. Yahoo can give the actual information of these people claiming to be vets to the authorities and they can be prosecuted. So if they think this is cute, they won't think so after they are forced to pay a huge fine and face jail time for this.

Answer 6

I doubt that there are very many vets who actually have time to be looking at and answering questions on here. Also, it would be bad for business, giving free advice and all. It would be illegal for someone to set up a practice and call themselves a vet when they're really not. I don't know about answering questions online, though, and claiming to be a vet when they're not.

Answer 7

You're never going to stop people from claiming that they are something they are not, no matter what they are claiming to be. On this forum there is probably no legal repercussions for doing that. It is always in the askers best interest to take any advice or answers with a grain of salt.

I might ask a question about my dog's health, kids health, whatever, but you can be darn sure that I don't take anything as gospel. It's interesting to see the answers you get and if any turn out to be correct, but it's not the end all be all. You have to get real advice from a true professional.

Answer 8

It is illegal and morally wrong to pose as a vet! But I got to say I just wish some of these people would just take their pets to a vet before asking a question anyway.(Most already know the answers) But then again some are just playing around asking ?'s like my dogs leg is dangling should I take her to the vet (at least i hope they are playing around)!

Answer 9

Yes, it does scare the crap out of me the amount of uneducated answers that appear on here with ' im a vet' or 'vet tech' underneath them. Yes there are guidelines here as to how much lies you can post, but to try to justify an obviously stupid guess as to the answer by claiming to be a person in a paid position to know, is immoral, unjustifiable, and possibly dangerous.

If half the people on here that claim to work in vetrinary medicine actually do, i know i would be too scared to take my dogs to any vets, for fear of getting one of these idiots instead of a decent, knowledgable vet. Im not saying that everyone is lying, just that the badly spelled, badly grammatically compositioned, obviously ignorant answers posted by some claiming to be vets, are likely to be the ones to ignore. I know the education required for studying vetrinary medicine is hell of a lot higher standard than some display.

That said, i know i always try to answer with as much knowledge as i possess on the situation, and i always state one thing if i think a situation is serious 'take your dog to a vet'.

In the real world, yes it is illegal to pose as a vet and treat an animal and get paid for it, same as if you pose as a doctor. But, unfortunately, giving advice posing as a vet, but not charging for it, isnt illegal, its up to the individual as to whether the act on the advice.

People on here should definately not give advice and try to back it up with false claims of expertise.

Answer 10

I do believe that it was stated as fraud in the TOS/ community guidelines.
However, this forum is blessed with the addition of a few vets, mostly ER Vets that come on when 'business is slow' at night. I miss the posts from the great ones when they change shifts or go back to work (after maternity leave, etc) They give helpful general advice. They dispel myths and old wives' tales. I think it is great!

However, when one who claims to be a vet makes ridiculous statements, I always look at their other questions..They are usually teens, as they are asking such as.."How do I show a cute guy at school that I like him"
So far, all but one have been girls..One was an older fellow, who had a very low self esteem...I called him on it, and he harassed me for weeks. ( His 360 profile said he was a computer analyst, which I believe was fantasy, as well!)

I do report them as being fraudulent when I run across such users. ..They are potentially dangerous!

We also gets posts from vet students..I think that is great for all of us..