The vet industry is in a tailspin

Who’s sadder after a trip to the vet: your pup donning a plastic cone, or you, sweatily clutching a $8k bill?

Anyone who owns a pet knows that when they’re not feeling well, you’ll do anything to fix it. Unfortunately, Big Vet also knows that.

And it’s been sinking its claws into independent vet practices and small chains, driving up costs for consumers, per The Atlantic. There are a few reasons for the shift:

• Private equity firms invested $51.6B into the vet sector between 2017 and 2023, in addition to $9.3B in the first four months of 2024.
• One study found that 78% of pet owners would consider going into debt for their pet — especially for medical emergencies.
• The veterinary industry was deemed “low-risk, high-reward” by Capstone Partners in 2022.

Thanks to those tempting stats, small vet practices have been gobbled up by large corporations, which now own an estimated 25%-30% of US vet clinics, up from 8% in 2011, and ~75% specialty clinics.

Mars Inc. (yes, the candy company) is the largest owner of free-standing vet clinics in the US, with 2k+ Banfield, VCA, and BluePearl locations.

JAB Holding Co., which owns brands like Panera and Espresso House, operates 1k+ National Veterinary Associates hospitals and multiple pet insurance lines.

Sick as a dog

What do these acquisitions mean for consumers? Bigger costs, that’s what:

• Americans spent $38B+ on pet care and related services in 2023, up from ~$29B in 2019.
• In March, the Consumer Price Index was up 3.5% YoYfor urban consumers, while the vet services category alone was up 9.6%.

The American Veterinary Medical Association’s tracker shows that vet visits and medication purchases are down, despite revenue being up — a sign that consumers might be struggling to cover costs.

Don’t lose all hope: The FTC said JAB must receive approval before buying any other emergency vet clinics within 25 miles of its current locations in California and Texas through 2032. And in the UK, the government is investigating high vet prices.

But, for now, put that chocolate bar on a higher shelf — we’re not taking any chances.