Pet owners are having their sick animals put down or delaying their treatment as result of rising vet bills, animal charities and vets have warned. Many owners are also looking to taking their pets to rehome centres, with others choosing not to have any pets in the future, the BBC reports.
Veterinary surgeons and nurses say that vet bills are rising after big corporations have bought up many practices. The cost of care, The British Veterinary Association (BVA) says, has increased for multiple reasons, and fees reflect prices businesses need to charge to stay afloat. Blue Cross runs a fund for those who can’t afford emergency care. It has seen a 264% increase in applications in the past year, rising from 1,319 in 2023 to 4,807 in 2024.
25 veterinary surgeons, nurses, and industry insiders, working for various companies, spoke with the BBC. Many of them blamed rising vet bills on large companies buying up practices. One said that life had become “hellish” when the practice was bought, while another said that a regional manager bought them a cake when they hit financial targets, saying it “went down badly” among staff covered in animal blood and urine.
Dr Callum Ladell, who worked at over 250 practices, spoke publicly with the BBC, with others fearing for their job security in the future. Dr Ladell says public trust in vets has waned, adding that he is seeing fewer clients bringing pets in for treatment due to the expectation of a large bill.
“We’re having cases come in, having been left for months and months, and normally, it ends up being euthanasia, putting an animal to sleep, because they can’t afford the bill and because it works out cheaper than fixing them,” he told the BBC.
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