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Pet owners at risk of being ripped off by private equity firms as vet ownership rules change

Critics say changes by CMA will allow multinationals to obscure their ownership of vet practices

Pet owners have been warned that they could be unknowingly ripped off by private equity firms who have bought local vet clinics, after the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) removed requirements for multinational companies to disclose which practices they own.

The CMA recently ran an investigation into the monopolisation of vet practices, and found that the lack of competition and transparency of ownership had led to high prices and a lack of information for customers. Pet owners were often unaware their local vet practice could be owned by an international private equity company.

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© Photograph: Yelena Shander/Getty Images

© Photograph: Yelena Shander/Getty Images

© Photograph: Yelena Shander/Getty Images

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‘Such adept cover stars’: why dogs are taking over fashion in the ‘AI face’ era

Cute, egoless canines offer a break from a world that feels dominated by ‘nepo babies’ and ‘Maga lady aesthetic’

What do Nicole Kidman, a pair of “nepo babies” and a beagle called Sansa Martínez Berlingeri have in common? They all appear on the covers of the all-important September issues of Vogue and Dogue. But the winner of the unofficial battle of the covers? The one with the keenest sense of smell and a penchant for playing with socks.

The September covers of British Vogue and Vogue US have come under intense scrutiny after their recent release, while their canine counterpoint, Dogue, has been almost unanimously celebrated.

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© Photograph: Paul Hempstead/Dogue

© Photograph: Paul Hempstead/Dogue

© Photograph: Paul Hempstead/Dogue

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