The Virginia Veterinary Medical Association is advising its members to refuse to vaccinate dogs whose owners are upset by a new law that requires rabies certificates to be sent to local tax collectors.

The measure is intended to improve compliance with the current dog-licensing law - which could mean a bill in the mail for a dog owner who previously avoided buying a license.

But the association’s advice could lead to fewer dogs being vaccinated, wrote Bob Kane, president of the Virginia Hunting Dog Owners’ Association, in an e-mail to the group’s approximately 2,700 members, state legislators and reporters.

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