'We participated in an on-line meeting of the UK All All-party Parliamentary Dog Advisory Welfare Group about foreign dog
adoptions a few years ago. For us one of the vets hit the nail on the head in the discussion. She rightly said adopters adopt with the best intention. They want a pet dog, not a project. And this makes total sense. It is a challenge in a refuge environment to discern completely accurately how shelter behaviour translates into a home but that is our aim: To present families with adoptable companions, rewarding for them and the dog, with appropriate rescue back-up.
Talking to our network, it seems that costs have a role to play. We don’t actually fully cover our costs when asking for an adoption fee to support our work. If we reflected the actual expense, we would home very few dogs and cats. We try to keep the costs to a minimum.
However, it appears that the culprit costs are potential routine vet fees once the animal is homed and pet insurance premia.
The UK’s Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) conducted an initial review of the veterinary sector in 2023 and based on the outcome decided it should launch a formal market investigation which was launched in May 2024. The final decision is due in the autumn of 2025.
The CMA initial review highlighted multipleconcerns:
Consumers may not be given enough information to enable them to choose the best veterinary practice or the right treatment for their needs.
Concentrated local markets, in part driven by sector consolidation, may be leading to weak competition in some areas.
Large corporate groups may have incentives to act in ways which reduce choice and weaken competition.
Pet owners might be overpaying for medicines or prescriptions.
The regulatory framework is outdated and may no longer be fit for purpose.
Indeed we have noticed these practices in Spain as well but in the pet supplies market. We have experienced a sizeable pet accessories and food supplier undercutting the independent stores to eliminate the competition and then mushrooming all over Spain with much higher prices. Similarly the two suppliers of our vet products for the Scooby clinic are manoeuvring in such a way as one will soon be absorbed into the other. The impact on choice and price is certainly not in our favour.
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