NEW HOLLAND, Pa. — When large animals like horses or cows get hurt, it takes a little extra to calm them down while they’re operated on or have a wound fixed up.
“They’ll get so uncomfortable that they’ll actually hurt themselves or hurt the people around them, so we give them sedatives to allow them to be quiet enough so we can work on them," said Jim Holt, a large animal veterinarian and owner of Brandywine Veterinary Services.
For cows, horses and other large animals, that sedative is xylazine.
The drug is FDA-approved for veterinary use only, but over the last year or so, it’s gotten mixed in with illegal street drugs and is rapidly leading to more and more overdose deaths.
“It has real significant depressant effects on the brain, the heart, the respiratory center, things like that," explained Holt. "It’s really dangerous in people.”
That’s why the Shapiro Administration took executive action, making xylazine illegal statewide.
Holt says vets like him were concerned the move would mean they wouldn’t be able to legally access it.
“[If that happened, it] would impact the welfare of the animals, the safety of the animals," he explained. "There would be just so many detrimental impacts."
Holt serves as the chairman of the Legislative and Regulatory Committee for the Pennsylvania Veterinary Medical Association. He and others worked with the Pennsylvania Department of Health to make sure the drug is still available.
“They reached out to the manufacturers and made sure there was a clause in there that it was not illegal for the licit use or legal use of the drug," said Holt.
The move by the Shapiro Administration only makes xylazine illegal temporarily, for at least one year.
State lawmakers will have to pass legislation to make the decision permanent.
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