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Some practitioners of veterinary acupuncture, which involves inserting needles into specific points on a patient's body to produce a healing response, want their field to be recognized veterinary specialty.

A group of acupuncture veterinarians is making a third bid for specialty recognition in the United States, guided by the view that acceptance of acupuncture in human and veterinary medicine has advanced enough since their last effort a decade ago to make the attempt successful.

Some veterinarians who perform embryo transfer, a reproduction technique, also are seeking specialty recognition, in their case for the first time.

A veterinary specialty is a focused area of knowledge and skill. Aspiring specialists must complete training programs, such as residencies, many of which have research requirements. They also must pass an exam evaluating their knowledge and skills in their chosen area. To maintain specialty status, many specialists are required to undergo periodic re-evaluation. 

Acupuncture, which is based on principles of traditional Chinese medicine, involves inserting needles into specific points on a patient's body to produce a healing response and/or alleviate pain. Embryo transfer involves collecting fertilized embryos or oocytes (eggs) of livestock and storing, distributing or transferring them to recipient animals for gestation with the goals of boosting productivity and improving herd genetics.

The American Board of Veterinary Specialties, part of the American Veterinary Medical Association, recognizes 22 organizations that confer specialty credentials and 48 specialties to date. The latest requests for recognition are open for public comment through Aug. 12.

Some veterinary specialties operate under the umbrella of a specialty organization known as a board or college. The American Board of Veterinary Acupuncture and the American Embryo Transfer Association seek to be recognized as standalone organizations.

The path to ABVS recognition is multifaceted. Public comment is "used to gauge the need for, and public acceptance of, a new specialty from diverse stakeholders," according to ABVS policies and procedures. Any concerns expressed during public comment are passed on to the proponents to be addressed in their petition for recognition.

Petitions can run for hundreds of pages. Required information includes an estimate of the number of individuals anticipated to pursue diplomate status and how they would impact veterinary medicine; a breakdown of the scientific knowledge and practice that forms the basis for recognition as a specialty; a proposed constitution and/or bylaws; and evidence of facilities and programs for advanced training. Petitioners also must identify any overlap with existing specialties and explain why their proposed specialty is distinct enough to stand on its own.

There may be a second public comment period before a formal petition is submitted. Comments are kept between ABVS and the petitioning organization, according to AVMA spokesperson Mark Rosati. In addition, he said, the rationale behind ABVS decisions is provided to petitioners but not otherwise made public.

Initial recognition is provisional. After four years, a specialty organization can request full recognition.

The ABVS has recognized three new specialties or specialty organizations in the past decade: equine diagnostic imaging in 2019, the American College of Veterinary Nephrology and Urology in 2022, and fish practice in 2023. Earlier this year, ABVS denied a petition for a clinical wildlife specialty.

Acupuncture tries again

Dr. Bonnie Wright, a veterinary anesthesiologist and past president of the American Academy of Veterinary Acupuncture (AAVA), is an advocate of recognition. She told the VIN News Service that specialty designation would elevate the field overall by improving the design of residencies, driving research and pulling together a fragmented field.

In its summary to ABVS, the organizing committee estimated that 4,000 to 5,000 veterinarians in the U.S. have completed acupuncture certification through one of six organizations: Chi University, the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society, CuraCore, the Canine Rehabilitation Institute, Evidence-Based Veterinary Acupuncture and the College of Integrative Veterinary Therapies.

Acupuncture groups have submitted petitions for recognition at least twice before, according to Rosati — once in the early 2000s and again in the mid-2010s. Wright, who participated in that second effort, said the difference between then and now is enormous.

"The major reason that we were denied last time was that they didn't feel there was enough science behind our application and enough science on the veterinary side," she explained. But since 2015, around 40 randomized, controlled trials for acupuncture in veterinary species have been published, along with another 40 clinical trials and retrospective studies, all in the veterinary realm, she said. (Wright provided VIN News a list of acupuncture research citations, predominantly in veterinary medicine, dating to 1978.)

Wright also described a "tidal wave" of recognition of acupuncture in human medicine, culminating with the federal program Medicare reimbursing for its use in treating chronic low back pain. "To reach the bar of Medicare in the U.S. has happened since we applied last time," she said. "And that is a huge motivator [for seeking recognition]."

AAVA was admitted as a member of the AVMA House of Delegates in 2014, and earlier this year, the delegates approved an Integrative Veterinary Medicine policy, which considers veterinary acupuncture part of complementary and alternative therapies, according to a recent AVMA news story.

Approximately 80% of veterinary acupuncture practitioners work primarily with small animals, 10% to 20% with equine patients, and a smaller percentage with other species, including those that are farm animals, exotics and zoo animals, according to the organizers' summary.

Embryo transfers done by the hundreds of thousands

In its request for recognition, the American Embryo Transfer Association (AETA) said it has an existing certification credential with high standards that "align very well to the certification requirements of diplomate status."

To become AETA-certified, individuals must pass an initial exam, demonstrate extensive experience, participate in annual continuing education, pass recertification tests, abide by the rules and regulations established by the AETA, International Embryo Technology Society and U.S. Department of Agriculture — including undergoing facility and laboratory inspections — and "demonstrate exemplary moral character and professionalism."

AETA members work primarily with livestock, including cattle, sheep, goats and swine, and are responsible for 85% of the embryos exported worldwide, according to its summary. In 2023, there were 565,111 bovine (cattle) embryos transferred in the U.S., plus 4,619 ovine (sheep) transfers and 12,178 caprine (goat) transfers. In addition, 24,113 bovine embryos were exported to 38 countries.

The association did not respond to emails and calls from VIN News.

When the ABVS will render decisions depends on when each group submits its petition for provisional recognition, which could be as early as November, according to Rosati. In that case, the ABVS would discuss the petition during a meeting in March 2026.

Failure to achieve recognition on the initial petition is often followed by further work and resubmission of a revised petition. Proposed veterinary specialty organizations have about four years from the time they start the process of requesting recognition to submit their final petition.