Are you struggling to afford the cost of keeping your pet?

Charities like the Blue Cross are reporting not only an increase in demand for their services, but increased operating costs too.

Transcript

00:00Well, we've seen demand rise in both our hospitals, but also through our veterinary care fund,

00:08and that gives us the most kind of stark demonstration that people are struggling with veterinary

00:12bills.

00:13So last year, we had about 23 practices that were actively engaged with accessing our support

00:19fund.

00:20This year, that's grown to 1,300 in the space of a few months, and that's people that are

00:26going to their vets, struggling to afford the bills, and that the vets are trying to

00:29help them in making that treatment affordable, but contacting us for charitable support.

00:35What factors do you think have led to that sharp rise in pet owners and veterinary practices

00:40seeking the help of charities?

00:42Well, the rise in veterinary costs is quite complex.

00:44We have a workforce crisis, but there's also rising costs with things like medicines, rates,

00:52you know, bills, things like that.

00:53So at Blue Cross, we've seen an increasing cost of a million pounds to our cost base

00:57in the last year.