Dr Caroline Allen FRCVS said the Competition and Markets Authority’s veterinary remedies order, which takes effect this week, amounted to “headline-driven, superficial reforms” that fail to tackle the pet care affordability crisis.
The initial measures focus on consumer transparency and pricing through compulsory price lists and caps on prescription fees.
But Dr Allen, who spent eight years overseeing animal welfare at the RSPCA and has nearly 30 years of experience, warned they do not address the underlying causes of soaring veterinary costs.
She said rising insurance premiums, increasingly unaffordable treatment and a growing number of owners unable to access care for their pets represented a genuine welfare emergency.
Dr Allen said: “The cost problem is real and I don’t want to minimise it for a second. People are struggling. Animals are going without treatment because their owners simply cannot pay. That is a welfare crisis.
“But MPs and the CMA have spent three years using this investigation to make political points about rip-off vets, and what they’ve actually delivered is a requirement to publish a price list. That is not a solution. It is a gesture.”
Dr Allen said part of the affordability problem was structural, with veterinary training increasingly emphasising high-tech, protocol-driven medicine.
Vets are taught to offer high-tech, algorithm-led care and can feel like bad clinicians if they deviate from it.
But for many owners, that level of intervention is simply out of reach.
Dr Allen said what was missing was the space for vets and owners to meet in the middle and focus on what was best for the individual animal within that family’s circumstances.
She also warned that a growing culture of blame was pushing veterinary costs in the opposite direction.
Owners who threaten to complain, report or sue their vets can create an environment in which defensive medicine becomes the norm.
Vets who are frightened may over-investigate, over-refer and produce longer estimates to protect themselves.
That pushes costs up, fuels further anger among pet owners and ultimately drives more defensiveness within the profession.
Dr Allen said: “What we actually need is better clinical conversations. A vet who feels confident enough to say ‘we don’t have to do everything here, let’s talk about what makes sense for your pet and your situation.’ And an owner who feels safe enough to be honest about what they can manage. That is where good animal welfare happens. Politicians cannot legislate for that, and three years of blame and suspicion have made it harder, not easier.”
She urged pet owners to make use of the new transparency rules but said they should also feel empowered to have more open conversations with their vets.
Those conversations could begin with straightforward questions, including what would happen if a suggested procedure was not carried out, what the realistic outcome might be and whether there was another approach that could work for their situation.
However, Dr Allen said owners must also recognise their own appetite for risk and understand that they cannot expect high-tech, risk-free veterinary care on a limited budget.
Dr Allen served as the RSPCA’s Chief Veterinary Officer from 2014 to 2022. She is a BVA-AWF trustee and a Fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.
She is also the founder of Pet Lighthouse, an independent veterinary consultation service providing virtual second-opinion consultations to pet owners across the UK and in-home assessments in London.
The service helps owners navigate complex or difficult veterinary decisions with an independent clinical perspective.
For more information, visit http://petlighthouse.co.uk
