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How you can tell if an animal medicine is legal or illegal

About how to identify if a medicine for use on your animal has been licensed and legally sold or supplied.

From:
Veterinary Medicines Directorate
Published
1 February 2014

This publication was withdrawn on

No longer current

Documents

How to Identify Veterinary Medicinal Products: Legal or Illegal?

Ref: Information Leaflet No. 7

PDF, 692 KB, 2 pages

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Details

If a medicine is administered to an animal to treat or to prevent disease or a physiological disorder, or if it is used by a vet as a means of diagnosing a condition, it will generally be classed as a veterinary medicine.

The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) is the authority responsible for regulating and authorising veterinary medicines in accordance with the Veterinary Medicines Regulations (VMR).

Importation, possession or supply, or administration to animals of unauthorised medicines is illegal under the VMR.

Other information covered includes:

  • Schedule 6 Exemption for small pet animals
  • what you can do to be confident that medicines brought on the internet are legal - how the VMD’s Accredited Internet scheme will help you
Published 1 February 2014