Opinion
How corporate giants took over our vets - and why pets are paying the price
Carolyn Thomas - MS for North Wales
When a beloved family pet falls ill, owners need and expect compassion and care. But increasingly, what they are met with instead is confusion, eye-watering bills, and an industry which is increasingly putting profit before the welfare of animals.
And this crisis is no accident – it is the direct result of a corporate takeover of veterinary services that has gone almost entirely unchecked.
Until 1999, practices had to be owned by a qualified vet, but a change in the law allowed non-veterinary corporations to buy up vet practices.
The consequences have been staggering. Just six companies now control 60% of the entire UK veterinary sector – up from just 10% a decade ago – with many owned by private equity firms whose sole obligation is to maximise profits for investors.
Like much of our economy since the Thatcher years, veterinary care has been subject to a neoliberal monopolisation which has resulted in poorer services in return for increased prices, whilst those working in the sector have seen their pay and conditions eroded.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), now deep into an investigation prompted partly by the tireless work of Welsh campaigners such as Dr Linda Joyce-Jones, has already uncovered widespread problems: no price transparency, huge hikes in fees, overcharging for medicines and treatment, and little to no recourse when things go wrong.
The stories emerging are heartbreaking. Bills have risen over 60%, far outstripping inflation or veterinary staff salaries. Many owners have been priced out of pet insurance altogether, especially in areas dominated by corporate chains, pushing families into impossible choices.
I have come across cases of people skipping meals to pay vet bills, surrendering beloved pets to rescue centres, and in the most tragic circumstances, choosing euthanasia simply because they cannot afford treatment.
And the pressure on rescue centres tells its own story – the RSPCA has reported a 25% increase in pet abandonments this year, with 70% of owners worried about affording pet care.
Pets should be a source of joy and companionship, but too often, families now fear they simply won’t be able to care for them if the worst happens.
This crisis also extends to the workforce. Veterinary nurses, receptionists, and support staff face poverty pay, real-terms wage cuts, and shocking gender pay gaps.
Meanwhile, pressures and sales targets undermine clinical judgement. One vet told researchers he was encouraged to push the most expensive procedures and later questioned by bosses when he hadn’t delivered enough ‘upsells’.
Another described her out-of-hours call centre booking unnecessary emergency appointments costing owners £300 or more.
This is the business model of corporate chains. And when workers have tried to organise, such as during the recent dispute at Valley Vets, companies have met them with hostility, closures, and redundancies.
This is not a sector failing by accident, but by design. And it is failing because huge corporations are extracting obscene profits at the expense of everyone else.
But it doesn’t need to be this way. France has already acted against corporate ownership of vet practices, and Ireland is now considering similar measures. The UK, and Wales, must not be left behind.
We must look seriously at regulating ownership, improving transparency, and strengthening worker’s rights.
Fundamentally, we must return veterinary services to a system driven by welfare, not shareholder returns. The current system is unsustainable, and action must be taken before the damage becomes irreversible.
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