Corporate vets can buy practices in Ireland, the Veterinary Council of Ireland has ruled.

In its updated Code of Professional Conduct, the vets’ regulatory body this week said that it has no control over the ownership of veterinary practices.

It regulates the practitioners, medicines used and registration of premise – but not who owns the practises.

Veterinary Ireland, which represents individual vets, has said it is considering taking legal action against the council.

“It is clear from the current law [the Veterinary Practice Act 2005 as amended] that lay corporate bodies can have no role in the operation of veterinary practices. Employees of lay corporate bodies would not have clinical autonomy,” Veterinary Ireland CEO Finbarr Murphy said.

Fears

Farmers fear that corporate vets would make services more expensive and that out of hours call-outs would be less available.

Lorcan McCabe, ICMSA deputy president, said that his organisation was “adamantly opposed” to corporations buying out individual veterinary practices.

IFA animal health chair Pat Farrell told the Irish Farmers Journal: “Our fear would be that corporate vet companies will buy the practice but will cherry-pick the profitable parts out of the business and will leave the rest.”

“It is going to do no favours to the farmers,” said ICSA animal health chair Hugh Farrell.

“We’re going to try and sustain another group of people, along with the vets.

“Farmers can’t afford any further costs.”

Corporates in the UK

Over the last five years, corporate vets have bought up vast numbers of practices in the UK, with one company buying two practices every week in 2018 alone. In next week’s Irish Farmers Journal we visit UK practices owned by corporates to see how the buyout has affected farmers.