I am under no illusions as to how difficult it is to weed out 100% of the corporate vets. I trawled through every single veterinary website last month but a few (a very few) have slipped through the net.
Here's an example:
Masefield Veterinary Centre in Malvern has no indication on its website's home page that it has been acquired by CVS Group Plc.
CVS appears to be the most nervous of the Big Six corporates in letting pet and animal owners know which practices it owns.
You have to click on Terms before you get any indication that this practice isn't quite as independent as it first seemed.
A visitor to www.independentveterinarypractice.co.uk messages me to advise of the ownership, adding, "You’d be hard pressed to find this information. They aren’t listed on the CVS website and their own website is basic."
Apparently there is a notice in the practice.
One thing that The Competition and Markets Authority may care to look at is the lack of transparency of ownership and the difficulties that can be experienced in finding out whether a particular practice is independent or not.
In the meantime Masefield Veterinary Centre has been removed from the map and table.
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