Conversations at Bearbull’s local – and unofficial – dog walkers’ association often turn to the vexing matter of the cost of running the four-legged creatures. Less than a child, but a darn sight more than running a gas-guzzling SUV is the consensus; with the colossal costs of pet insurance relative to car insurance, you would think that’s almost a given.
On one issue the opinion of the dog walkers is almost unanimous. Once a veterinary practice falls into the maws of private equity, two things happen – first, prices rise horrendously; second, the consistency of care drops in inverse proportion. Granted, some of this is about people’s propensity to moan. Yet it’s almost tangible – enter a vets’ practice owned by private equity and there’s something in the air that tells you ‘Get ready to be fleeced’, which has nothing to do with the length of your cockapoo’s fur.
Even the UK’s competition watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority, has sniffed it out. In September, it launched a review of the veterinary sector, saying “it will explore how well the market, worth over £2bn in the UK, is working for pet owners”. The regulator is right to be concerned. After all, it notes that 10 years ago 89 per cent of vets’ practices were independently owned, usually meaning they were owner-managed by vets. Today, that proportion has halved to 45 per cent. Meanwhile, as the chart shows, price inflation for vets’ services has far outstripped consumer price inflation (CPI). Since 2015, vets prices have risen 66 per cent faster than the CPI average and are currently rising at twice the CPI rate – 12.1 per cent in the year to October compared with 4.6 per cent.