I knew the increase in vet fees had to be a scam

[Crazyworldmum]

https://apple.news/ADt8WFAeZQ3a6Xpqd3Xz13g

I’ve been saying all along the increase in vet fees in the last decade has been out of this world .
I used to be a small hobby breeder ( pedigree cats ) and spaying , vaccinations and microchipping was all around £80 per kitten . Now all of it will easily cost £400 or more .
Vet fees in other countries maintained a normal increase , France , Portugal , Cyprus Spain had affordable vet care ( 50 to 80% less than the U.K. ) and vets are paid the same as here wage wise .
The uk is having the cost controlled by these companies that are purposely inflating prices .

It's just market forces. Businesses will charge what they can get away with. Hence 100$ gor an aspirin in American hospitals or 200$ for some random doctor sticking his head in the door and saying hello (happened to a friend, she has no idea who he was). Private vet practice being bought up to turn more of a profit, that's life. Gone are the days where being a vet was a way of life rather than a business.

There's a ceiling to what people can and will pay.
Whilst people will dig deep for pets, even that has a limit.
I was offered a lovely dog a couple of years ago but one of my deciding factors to decline was cost - it needed monthly injections and they weren't covered by insurance and yet because this counted as a pre-existing condition, the insurance fees (big dog, middle aged) were something like £200 a month.
People will get fewer pets, not take on older animals and reduce the amount of vet trips they take.
Excessive vet fees will dent pet ownership and increase animals in rescues or euthanasia for animals with treatable health issues.

So way back in 2000 there was public feeling that vets were too expensive so the competition commission investigated. They decided that only vets being allowed to own vet practices was a monopoly and force the change to allow non-vet ownership.
Combine with this that legislation from Europe introduced the cascade that outlawed the use of generic medications if a licensed veterinary product existed.
Then there is the working time directive that outlawed the kind of working hours that I did when I first went into practice - an average 48 hour week with up to 60 hours a week on call.
Plus rightly the increase of qualified and regulated veterinary nurses ( something many countries in Europe do not have).
There are so many factors that have lead to increased fees.