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ISLE of Wight veterinarian Mr Paul Hallum allowed an inaccurate certificate to be sent out on behalf of a client wishing to sell a horse. At the end of a three-day hearing on June 20, the rcvs Disciplinary Committee found him guilty of disgraceful conduct and ordered that he be suspended from practising for two months.
Mr Hallum, a partner in the Newport practice of Green, Forster and Hallum, wrote a letter on behalf of a horse-owning client, Mrs Fiona King, to the nfu Mutual insurance company in September 2004. At the time, Mrs King was negotiating to sell her gelding called Noah to Mrs Heather Mills from Ventnor, who wanted assurances that the animal was sound and could be fully insured without restrictions.
An exemption had been included on the animal's policy preventing any further claims for treatment of lameness following investigations of a hindimb problem in November 2002. Mr Hallum's letter indicated that the horse had been free of lameness for nearly two years when, in fact, it had been treated by a colleague, Dr Ian Green, for an acute lameness incident in May 2004. The animal had also been sent for treatment by an equine physiotherapist in May and June 2004.
A few months...