Besides the effects on pets and pet owners, the senators said independent vets are being harmed
Large corporations and private equity firms are becoming major players inveterinary care, leading to concerns about the effects on fees, quality of care and career opportunities for veterinarians.
U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) are quizzing two of the biggest players, writing to JAB Holding Companyand Mars Petcare.
Key issues
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JAB Holding Company
- The senators asked JAB for details on shareholder dividends, financial information on its veterinary businesses, executive pay, medication pricing, and the sale of veterinary practice real estate.
- They are concerned about JAB's impact on costs and competition in the veterinary care industry.
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Mars Petcare
- Mars owns nearly half of corporate-owned veterinary clinics and many pet-related businesses, including 50 pet food brands.
- The senators worry that Mars uses its market power to raise prices for vet care, diagnostics, and pet food, potentially hurting pet owners and independent vet practices.
- Reports suggest Mars corporate practices lead to poor working conditions for veterinarians, who feel overworked and undervalued.
Small practices threatened
In September 2024, Senator Warren led a roundtable discussion in Watertown, Massachusetts with veterinary experts and stakeholders to discuss private equitys adverse impact on veterinary care.
Pet owners and veterinarians voiced additional concerns about how concentration and vertical integration among laboratories and other services used by veterinarians are hurting small and independent vet practices and, in turn, pet owners; and how corporate-owned veterinary practices are using noncompete agreements or non-solicitation agreements to prohibit veterinarians from choosing to start their own independent facility, thereby worsening the veterinary care shortage and stifling veterinarians economic freedom.
The senators requested that JAB provide further information about the value of its veterinary care companies, shareholder dividends related to pet care, whether JAB-owned diagnostic labs charge different prices to JAB-owned clinics, and their use of noncompete agreements by December 2, 2024.
The senators are requesting that Mars provide information about its pet care acquisitions, the revenue from acquired clinics, whether it has pushed pet owners to purchase Mars pet food, and its possible use of noncompete agreements by December 2, 2024.
Photo Credit: Consumer Affairs News Department Images
Posted: 2024-11-20 20:05:21
