The British Veterinary Association said it welcomes the majority of the measures, particularly those designed to improve transparency and consumer choice, outlined by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) as it published its final decision following more than two years of investigation into the UK vet services market for household pets.
BVA said it was also pleased to see the CMA acknowledge the intense public scrutiny vet teams have been under during the investigation and highlighted their ‘continued professionalism, compassion, and commitment to animal welfare’ shown throughout.
BVA president Dr Rob Williams MRCVS said: “I know it’s been a long and testing couple of years for the profession. I’m pleased to see that with this final decision, the CMA has listened to BVA’s concerns and we’re able to welcome the majority of these measures, which are largely focused on increasing transparency and information, supporting clients to make more informed choices.
“As vets, we care deeply for animals and anything we can do to build trust between us and their owners, like supporting consumer choice, is a good thing.”
Dr Williams continued: “We’re also pleased to see that the CMA continues to support our calls for reform of the woefully outdated Veterinary Surgeons Act, including the introduction of vet practice regulation, which will go a long way to addressing many of the issues its investigation raised.
“This isn’t quite the end and as we get down into the detail of the CMA’s final measures, BVA will support our members to help them understand what they need to do to comply. We will also continue to engage with the CMA to ensure that they get the details right and there aren’t any unintended consequences.”
