Struggling with high pet med costs? Canada’s competition watchdog calls for

As a pet owner and technician in emergency veterinary medicine, Denise Angus knows the importance of access to affordable care. 

Her first pet, Mattie, a miniature doberman pinscher, had Cushing’s disease, with medication that cost $400 a month. 

Angus lost Mattie in 2017 and began a pet rescue and shelter in Toronto called Mattie’s Place that now helps 150 animals a year.

Given her experience, Angus is welcoming this week’s push by Canada’s Competition Bureau to make pet medicines more affordable for owners.

“Having access to more cost-efficient pet medication would absolutely be impactful for pet owners,” she said. 

Angus said many of the rescued pets at Mattie’s Place have medical needs and she’s been able to treat them thanks to help from veterinarians.  

“The veterinarians I partner with for the rescue initiative offer rescue discounts which helps with costs and they are also willing to write a prescription to have a medication filled at a human pharmacy if it is a medication that can be found in human pharmacies, and often there is a cost savings.” 

In a report Tuesday, Canada’s Competition Bureau said that Canadians should have more choice for where they get pet prescriptions filled and that owners should be able to buy affordable medications for their furry companions at any pharmacy they choose. 

“As costs for pet care have increased, Canadians are concerned about affordability and availability of services,” Competition Commissioner Matthew Boswell said in a release.

“Mandating the supply of pet medications to pharmacists would improve competition.”

Owners struggle to afford pet care

The competition bureau report shines a light on the post-pandemic aftershock of pet ownership and the stress of associated costs. 

Ontario’s Veterinary Medical Association says owning a pet now costs $4,000 a year for a dog and nearly as much for a cat. Much of that cost is for routine medications. 

According to the Canadian Animal Health Institute, more than half of Canadian households own a pet. There are 16 million dogs and cats in this country and one in five owners say they need preventative care for their animal but can’t afford it. 

Regulations for distributing veterinary medicines vary across Canada.

Quebec’s regulatory body does allow for pharmacists to dispense pet meds, but that’s not the case in Ontario, British Columbia, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, where regulatory bodies prohibit veterinarians from reselling medicine. 

In its report, the Competition Bureau is also calling out pharmaceutical companies for “exclusive selling” to veterinarians. 

“The bureau has heard … that there is a widespread business practice in Canada of ‘exclusive distribution’ [where] pharmaceutical…