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00:00More than half of households in the UK are thought to own a pet.
00:13Ah, it's perfect.
00:14This one is cinnamon swirl. We've also got pumpkin spice and Rupert.
00:18They give us love, fun and companionship.
00:22I live on my own. My animals, they are my closest family.
00:25My dog's called Belle, and the thing is, like, I don't think I'll be able to live without her.
00:29If I ever run out of things to talk about, oh, by the way, do you know I have a snake?
00:34And most pet owners say their animal's health is as important as their family's.
00:40We do anything for them. Poppy's actually had her hip replaced.
00:43She's cost us an arm and a leg, so probably around 10k.
00:49Vets' bills have soared, and some are blaming big business.
00:54I see the benefit that pets have on people's lives.
00:58And now they're being treated as cash income.
01:03How do you think vets see you now?
01:05They don't see me like a caring person. They just want the money.
01:09Are we being priced out of caring for our pets?
01:13The risk, financially, is so great. They are a luxury item.
01:25Another busy morning at a local independent vet in Surrey.
01:29Hola! Hi!
01:32And another worried pet owner, Andy's Labrador, Orla, is back for a check-up after a life-threatening injury.
01:41If she ran, jumped over a log and the log pierced her chest and she walked back to us with a whimper, we thought her leg was injured and then we realised there was blood coming out of the chest, so...
01:51That's her wound. That's how deep it was. That's her heart. It missed her heart by this much.
01:59It's looking really good, no swelling under there.
02:02It was a lucky escape.
02:04All is doing well and today needs just one more x-ray.
02:08I have some people that say,
02:10Ah, Vanessa, I feel like I know you, I trust you like I'm comfortable to leave my pet with you, which, you know, that's a big thing.
02:19Alright?
02:20Yes.
02:21Come on in, good girl.
02:22The treatment hasn't come cheap.
02:25Good, good.
02:26Andy has insurance to cover the bill.
02:29We have to tell you how much it's going to cost. We have to.
02:33And I have never, ever met a vet that enjoys that part of the job.
02:38Owning a pet can be a big financial commitment these days.
02:42At a time when we're all feeling the pinch, pet owners are being hit particularly hard.
02:48And vets' bills are part of that.
02:51Prices went up by 63% on average between 2016 and 2023.
02:58Good girl. Good girl. Yeah.
03:02I'm a pet owner too.
03:04And I got my own vet bill when our cat got into a scrap recently.
03:08This is Luna and she's one of our cats.
03:11She had a bite to the tail.
03:13And that cost me £350.
03:17And she's sort of recovering well, but that is a lot of money.
03:20Up and down the UK, you'll hear the same story.
03:29What's your dog called?
03:31He's called Brodie.
03:32Brodie, stop. Brodie, stop.
03:33This pram is for my dog. He's got arthritis.
03:37He has to go to the vets once a month for an injection.
03:40The vet, they want to do some MRI scans on him, which will be close to two grand.
03:47Is there a line in terms of how much you'd pay?
03:49Does it ever become too much?
03:51He is our world.
03:55We are thinking and we probably will pay it.
04:00What do you think about vets feed? Prices have risen a lot in recent years.
04:03Have you noticed that?
04:04Well, that's a naft question, isn't it?
04:06A few weeks ago, I took her up there and got a quote.
04:09It was a growth on her tummy.
04:11What was it now? For about three or four hundred quid or something like that.
04:14I then said, not on your nelly.
04:16So I went to the RSPCA in Wigan.
04:20It cost me 25 quid.
04:23Pet owners can be caught out by the size of bills.
04:27That's because until recently, some vets didn't list their prices
04:32and customers don't always ask the right questions before agreeing to treatment.
04:37When people care passionately about dogs, it is everything.
04:41People will remortgage their house to save their best friend.
04:45They will do anything.
04:46Once something changes in your dog's world, everything else stops.
04:51People can't move on. They have to deal with it.
04:55Over the past few months, the BBC's been contacted by people angry about their vets bills.
05:02And they've told us their stories.
05:04So, for example, one here is a pet owner who said he paid £5,600 for 18 hours of vet care.
05:11That's £311 per hour.
05:14He says, I would have paid anything to save him but felt afterwards we'd been taken advantage of.
05:20Another one here.
05:21The dog was treated and had numerous blood tests and scans and was a resident at the vets.
05:26He says, at the end of the treatment, we were none the wiser about her illness
05:31and we were presented with a bill of £13,000.
05:36The bill that you get at the end, well, you're not prepared.
05:40You're not...
05:41I mean, really life-changing sums of money can, in the blink of an eye, suddenly crop up.
05:49And they don't ask that difficult question as to, well, what are the chances of success?
05:53What's the alternative that we could do?
05:56Yeah, you used to sleep with him.
05:58None of the slippers at all.
06:01The majority of pet owners don't have insurance and bills can leave less well-off families feeling helpless.
06:09The Bamber family from Atherton near Bolton say they were quoted £4,000 for a consultation and MRI scan when their dog, Blue, struggled to walk.
06:21They wanted 75% up front.
06:23It was shocking.
06:24Somebody working on a low income?
06:27No.
06:28Less, a lot of people on benefits, but somebody on a low income, I don't think they'd be able to pay £4,000.
06:35I really do miss Claymore.
06:38I know you do, sweetheart.
06:41The family couldn't pay.
06:43And after Blue was later diagnosed with cancer, they had to have him put to sleep.
06:51When Beryl Cooling's cat Milo became ill on a Sunday, she had to use an out-of-hours service, which cost more.
06:59He always used to get up and run to the door.
07:01And this day I could hear him like crying.
07:04And I thought, what's happened here?
07:06And I started to panic by then.
07:08I thought, what am I going to do?
07:12Milo had to be put to sleep.
07:15The grand total in the vat is £539.
07:20£9.20.
07:23A lot of money, what you haven't got.
07:28That's also included a basic cremation service.
07:32Just to be clear, they didn't tell you beforehand?
07:34No.
07:35And if they had, what would you have done?
07:36I would have took him home and let him die in my arms.
07:40Do you miss him?
07:41God, yeah.
07:42Every day.
07:53The world of vets has changed.
07:55The days of James Herriot are long gone.
07:58Well, there's still tablets.
08:00Tablets?
08:01What's that to worry about?
08:03He's just getting on a bit, that's all.
08:05The James Herriot vet that had one bag of stuff that could cure anything,
08:11could operate on a kitchen table and save your beloved pet's life.
08:17Well, it's gone, it's gone bionic.
08:21It's gone high tech.
08:24The UK vet industry, gathered here for its annual show in London,
08:28is now worth more than £6 billion.
08:3125 years ago, only qualified vets could run a practice.
08:37Now, big business has stepped in.
08:40I mean, this essentially has been the big bang in this market.
08:44David Reader is an expert in competition law
08:47and has closely studied the vet industry.
08:50It is a very lucrative market for a number of reasons.
08:53One, a market that was previously very fragmented
08:56with a host of small independent firms
08:59and an opportunity there to find efficiencies,
09:02to consolidate, to roll up markets,
09:05to close practices and set up regional hubs,
09:09but also to maximise profits.
09:13Corporate vets have bought up so many smaller independent vets
09:18that 60% of the market is owned by just six companies.
09:23A decade ago, it was 10%.
09:25The CMA identifies the six biggest companies as
09:30Linnaeus, owned by the food giant Mars, 180 practices.
09:35Medivet, backed by private equity funds, 363.
09:41Vet Partners, also backed by private equity, 375.
09:46CVS Group, 387.
09:50Pets at Home, 445 practices under the name Vets for Pets.
09:56And IVC Evidencia, which is partly owned by Nestle
10:01and also backed by private equity.
10:03It's the biggest, with 900.
10:05Some of them have bought up hundreds of independent vets.
10:12But that's something customers don't always realise.
10:17My lovely independent vet, as soon as he retired,
10:21he sold his practice.
10:22So I knew when he left.
10:23But then most of the other clients just didn't realise.
10:27And the name outside didn't change.
10:30And the letterheading didn't change.
10:32Pets at Home doesn't buy practices.
10:35It and Medivet both work in partnership with individual vets.
10:40And until now, only these companies consistently made clear in their branding
10:46who owns their practices.
10:48It's yours for life.
10:52The corporate firms say they've invested huge amounts to transform the industry
10:57with high-tech equipment to improve care for sick animals.
11:03I think there's been significant investment.
11:05And that investment has occurred in independent practices as well.
11:08We can fix a lot of things now that James Herriot could not.
11:12I think the expectation from pet owners of what veterinary care can do has gone up.
11:17The big difference, of course, is it does come with a cost.
11:20There is no NHS for pets.
11:22I've looked around amazing cancer hospitals for dogs
11:26and seen equipment that the NHS would cry for.
11:30I mean, just the most amazing machines.
11:32And I've seen a little room and I've gone, what's that room?
11:36Oh, that's the room where people go in to get financial advice
11:39for how to borrow the money to pay for it.
11:42Welcome on this beautiful morning.
11:45Concerned about rising prices, the government watchdog,
11:49the Competition and Markets Authority, or CMA,
11:52started a formal investigation.
11:55In today's times of economic hardship,
11:57what that means is that you see us, as a CMA,
12:00focusing on really essential areas of spend,
12:03investigating the markets for funeral care and vet services,
12:06where we buy services at particular moments of need
12:12and where we're vulnerable to exportation.
12:1445,000 pet owners contacted the CMA and 11,000 vets, big and small.
12:21When the Competition and Markets Authority announced its provisional findings last autumn,
12:26it said that pet owners were paying the price for the vets market not working properly.
12:31The CMA estimated the cost to pet owners between 2020 and 2024 was £900 million.
12:40It says that's down to not enough competition and informed choice in the market.
12:47Some of the corporate vets dispute this figure.
12:50The CMA has found significant increases in prices, average prices across the board,
12:58but has also drilled down into the large veterinary practices
13:04and has found average prices are close to 17% more versus independents.
13:10Beyond that, they consider the average prices and price increases in large veterinary groups
13:15backed by private equity that found that after an independent had been acquired,
13:21prices would increase beyond what would have been the case
13:24if that firm had remained independent.
13:28A CMA survey suggests pet owners are happy with their vets,
13:33both corporate and independent, when it comes to quality of service.
13:38But with the exception of pets at home,
13:40customer satisfaction on cost is much lower for the big companies.
13:48Rob Jones is one unhappy customer.
13:51He works in finance and says when the family dog, Betty, fell ill,
13:57he couldn't believe how the bill went up.
14:00I loved her. I absolutely adored her.
14:02You know, she was such a funny little character,
14:04you know, bags of personality, hanging for everybody.
14:07His local vets, owned by IVC, charged him nearly £900 for a consultation and scan.
14:16They then referred Betty to an emergency treatment centre run by vets now,
14:22who were also owned by IVC, and they did another scan at a higher price.
14:28Betty needed an operation which cost more than five grand.
14:33But 12 days later, Rob was advised that Betty could have a serious infection.
14:39He was told a diagnosis and another op would cost between £5,000 and £8,000.
14:46It was a bit of a sleepless night, you know, a bit of an anxious wait.
14:50We get the call just after nine o'clock, different vets, and the cost is now £12,000.
14:55And we were like, what? Like, why?
14:59And, I mean, and that for me, that's where it got really crazy.
15:04Because it's like, you know, why has it changed?
15:07It's £4,000 overnight.
15:08£4,000 overnight, and no real explanation.
15:11And he went off the phone, came back and said we could do it for £10,000.
15:14And I'm like, this, like, weird negotiation.
15:16You're negotiating a price now.
15:17Yeah, yeah. And I'm like, well, you know, is £10,000 it?
15:19And they're like, well, maybe not.
15:20I was like, so, you could phone later and it could be £14,000, it could be £16,000.
15:24And they're like, maybe.
15:26That was the absolute point where I lost faith in them.
15:29It was like, I don't believe that you've got our interests or Betty's interests at heart.
15:35I work in an industry where you negotiate things
15:38and you understand power levers in negotiation and all that kind of stuff.
15:41They were, in my view, leveraging their position.
15:45Rob and his wife Nina decided to have Betty put in charge.
15:49You know, we were very close to going ahead with it.
15:53And it was actually my daughter that kind of intervened.
15:56I still remember it, like, vividly.
15:58It was, you know, she said, you know, look, it's too much.
16:01It's too much for you. It's too much for Betty.
16:04I was really proud of her.
16:06Rob was happy with Betty's treatment,
16:09but complained about how the price went up
16:12and later got an apology and nearly £3,800 as a goodwill gesture.
16:19Vets now told us its staff care passionately for the animals it treats.
16:24It also says, in complex cases, prices can vary depending on what the vet discovers
16:31and how the patient responds.
16:33It says it has reviewed its processes and implemented a number of changes
16:39to ensure that conversations about pricing are as clear as possible.
16:44I honestly wouldn't get another pet.
16:47I think it's so expensive.
16:49And actually the risk, financially, is so great.
16:58A survey by the British Veterinary Union, which is part of Unite,
17:02suggests three-quarters of its members think charges are too expensive.
17:08I think that large veterinary corporations,
17:11particularly where they're owned by private equity companies,
17:14are more concerned about profit than professionals who own veterinary businesses.
17:21If you are in practice treating those patients
17:25and seeing the pet and the pet owner,
17:27you have a better understanding of what is affordable.
17:32The big firms say they're proud of their pay, training and career opportunities.
17:37But the CMA's provisional report says vets can feel under pressure
17:42by the way some companies monitor their practices.
17:45In researching this film, we've spoken to more than 30 vets
17:50who have worked either in the past
17:52or are currently working for big corporate companies.
17:55One told us that not enough blood tests were being taken.
17:59We were pushed to do more.
18:01I hated opening emails.
18:03And another said that when their small practice was sold,
18:07it was crazy.
18:08It was a struggle to keep vets.
18:10It was all about hitting targets.
18:14Not all the big firms set targets.
18:17They all say their staff are not asked to do anything
18:21that puts profit before animal welfare.
18:24And the CMA says the vast majority of vets behave ethically.
18:28IVC runs more practices than any of the other corporates.
18:33I went to meet someone who leads one of their surgeries.
18:37They didn't want to be identified because they could lose their job.
18:42They showed me a new internal document which is intended to improve clinical care
18:48and also lists key performance indicators for practices in the company.
18:53Things like scans, x-rays and sales per patient.
18:58And it's colour coded.
19:01So the green is even the top 25% and red would be the bottom 25%.
19:06And that is judged against the clinics in the country.
19:09So the example for the top left of that column would be OA, which is osteoarthritis.
19:13They would want any animal coming in with suspected osteoarthritis to be potentially having an x-ray.
19:19And as an experienced vet, do you need an x-ray to feel whether an animal's got arthritis or not?
19:25I think some animals you'd want to give x-rays to.
19:27But on the whole, if an animal comes in and it's the right age, it's got the right presentation,
19:31it's got thickened joints, you certainly wouldn't rush to x-ray.
19:34You'd maybe want to trial some anti-inflammatory treatment.
19:37Vets shouldn't have pressure to do an x-ray because it would play into whether they're getting green
19:41on the care framework for their clinic.
19:43How much would an x-ray cost?
19:45With sedation, you could be looking at £700.
19:50Nowadays, we will actually have meetings every month where one of the area teams will ask you
19:54how many blood tests you're doing, how many x-rays you're doing and how many ultrasounds you're doing.
19:58And if you were judged to being a lower level, then they would want to know why.
20:03The IVC vet is worried monitoring performance like this could influence how staff do their job.
20:11Is that red pressure for you?
20:13Yes, that's pressure.
20:15What's going through the vet's head is what is the problem, how can we fix it?
20:19What's going through the company's mind and what's going through their processes trying to get to the vet's mind
20:24is how can we upsell?
20:26This is a business. What's wrong with doing that?
20:29These are not just pets. These are part of people's family. There's welfare attached to it.
20:34There are hundreds, if not thousands, of my colleagues who work so hard for the things that they want to be better in the world,
20:40which is the pets that are healthier and happier, and then they're being undermined.
20:45IVC says it's extremely proud of the work its highly skilled clinical teams do, and the data it collects is to identify and close gaps in care for its patients.
20:59It says its vets have clinical independence.
21:03IVC also says the group's vets and vet nurses never prioritise revenue or transaction value over and above the welfare of the animal in their care.
21:14This would be against the RCVS code and against IVC policy.
21:21Under the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Code, all vets swear an oath to put animal welfare first.
21:28It currently has no power to regulate vet businesses.
21:33Well, our professional guidance is very clear that our clinical decision-making needs to be free from commercial pressures,
21:40and the RCVS did, in fact, write to all veterinary professionals and veterinary employers in November 24,
21:47reminding them of that need to protect that clinical autonomy.
21:52Part of what vets feel, though, I think, is they feel the pressure of their oath,
21:57but they've got this pressure on them from the company that makes it very difficult for vets, doesn't it?
22:02It absolutely does, and it is also why we have been calling for a new Vet Resurgence Act.
22:07A new law, which the CMA also wants, would make vet companies more accountable.
22:14It can't come soon enough for some pet owners.
22:18These people that own it, most of them have got shareholders anyway,
22:23and that's all they're interested in is the shareholders.
22:25Don't worry about the bloody animals. Don't tell me that they're animal lovers.
22:29But the vets, they wouldn't do that job unless they cared about animals.
22:32Well, I'm sorry, I don't agree with you. They do it because the money's good.
22:36How do you think vets view you, do you think?
22:38They don't see me like a caring person. They just want me money.
22:47Vets, whether they work for themselves like Vanessa or for corporates, feel under attack.
22:53The perception is that vets are sort of loaded, that bills have gone up and they're making lots of money.
22:59It breaks my heart. And just to take such a caring bunch of people and to say that we're in it for money, imagine how we feel.
23:12It really destroys you to hear something like that because it's so far from the truth.
23:17I don't think we've ever had such distrust from the public before.
23:21It's just not cool because vets didn't change.
23:25The industry changed, but the vets didn't.
23:29Hello, gorgeous.
23:36Some animal charities are worried about the impact of rising bills on pet owners and their pets.
23:43Danny runs the Blue Cross Rehoming Centre at Thirsk in North Yorkshire.
23:48This is Reggie. Hi, Reggie.
23:50Come on, fella. Come on, what's this?
23:52So, we're just going to head out to the training barn.
23:55People are abandoning their pets because of the shame that they're feeling of having to make this decision.
24:01Not being able to afford to look after your own pet, which is, in many circumstances, people's family members.
24:07What is the impact on a family if they're forced to give up their animal?
24:11We're talking about grief. This is what we're talking about.
24:14The loss of a pet is significant grief.
24:17I'm a pet owner myself. I cannot imagine having to have to make that decision.
24:23The choice between having my pet and not having my pet.
24:28And this is heartbreaking for people to experience.
24:32Because they're, in some cases, having to make euthanasia decisions.
24:37Because they cannot afford to pay for the vet treatment.
24:42Pets are becoming unaffordable.
24:45The Competition and Markets Authority is demanding the industry makes changes.
24:55It's telling companies to reveal whether they are part of a chain.
24:59And also whether they are connected to other businesses, like hospitals, online pharmacies, out-of-hours surgeries, even crematoria.
25:08IVC, CVS and vet partners all have connected businesses and would have to be more transparent about that in the future.
25:18Many large veterinary companies will own products and services that take a pet through their life from start to finish.
25:26Pet owners and the public in general in the UK want to know where they're spending their money.
25:32They want to know who that money goes to.
25:37To help pet owners keep costs down, the CMA also want vets to publish their prices online if they aren't already.
25:45And put the bills in writing if they're likely to go over £500.
25:50And it wants a new online database so pet owners can compare prices.
25:56Vets will also have to tell customers they can buy drugs cheaper online.
26:01And prescriptions will be capped at £16.
26:06The big companies say they support moves to make the industry more transparent, so long as they don't put too high a burden on vets.
26:16But they dispute some of the CMA's figures and analysis.
26:20They say their prices are competitive and are fully justified by their quality of care and high costs, including drugs.
26:29They say customers value their services highly and they comply with the RCVS guidelines.
26:36Some believe the CMA could have been tougher on the big companies.
26:42There are some good things.
26:44Definitely a good idea telling people when their practice has been taken over and that it's now corporate.
26:51But what the CMA doesn't achieve is protecting diversity.
26:58Because if every vet in your immediate area is now a corporate, you'll be able to see from the signage that that's the case.
27:06But you won't be able to find one that's independent because they've been bought.
27:12The CMA's final report is due by the spring and says its proposals would improve competition by helping pet owners choose the right vet, the right treatment and the right way to buy medicine without confusion or unnecessary cost.
27:30And that the CMA makes its decisions based on an objective assessment of the evidence.
27:37Vets and animal charities say we all need to wise up so our love for our pets doesn't get us into a financial mess.
27:49One is about education and that pet owners do the correct research when they're deciding to get a pet for the family, looking at insurance costs, looking at veterinary costs.
28:00Do pet owners need to be more realistic, do you think?
28:03Yeah, of course. So we can always offer a pet an MRI scan.
28:08But if you can't afford it, you have to be honest as well because you cannot get into debt about it.
28:14And there's probably another route that we can take.
28:17Do you think we might get to a stage where pets are just for the wealthy?
28:20God, I hope not.
28:22But you need a lot of money to look after a pet.
28:26Just get Jack Russell. They don't break.
28:30Come on.
28:31No.
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