CMA: vet warns equine practices ‘will have to change’

Equine vets have been warned they will need to adapt their practices to changing client expectations, even though forthcoming regulatory reforms don’t directly apply to them.

The message was delivered at BEVA’s annual congress in Birmingham yesterday (10 September), less than two weeks before the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) final orders are due to be implemented.

The orders have been the subject of significant criticism in recent weeks, including threats of a possible legal challenge.

But while the investigation has focused principally on small animal practice, SPVS president Pete Orpin told delegates the impact of its changes were likely to be felt in the equine field too.

Expectations

He said: “I would envisage most horse owners own other pets as well so they will be exposed to these changes.

“It would be very unusual if they didn’t expect the same things from their equine practices.”

Mr Orpin did acknowledge that equine practice was less dependent on medicine sales, one of the main areas of controversy arising from the CMA’s proposals, than other forms of practice.

But he suggested the sector was still likely to be caught up in the expansion of price comparison sites, predicting the platforms were likely to become increasingly “high profile”.

Value to clients

He also argued that practices would thrive in the future by demonstrating their value to clients rather than being drawn into competition that was based solely on price.

He said: “We have got to avoid the race to the bottom. What we’re trying to do is build practice resilience. These changes are coming but we don’t want them to be damaging changes.”

IVC Evidensia’s UK head of farm Paul Horwood reflected on the extent to which farm practices had been forced to change their business models through earlier regulatory interventions as he echoed the view would be harder to beat on grounds of value than price.

He also warned of far-reaching consequences from an effective auctioning of treatment work, saying: “If that becomes the norm, we’ll have really ripped the bottom out of the industry.”