Expert: Mutual threat picture between veterinarians and animal owners

The veterinarian is obliged to report an animal owner who does not give their animal the care it needs. At the same time, the pet owner may hesitate or not be able to afford the examinations.

The other side of the coin is that care has become so expensive in part because of another threat: pet owners reporting to vets for missing illnesses or providing incorrect care.

- This means that it becomes so-called defensive care, says Magnus Rosenquist, expert in animal health care and previously, among other things, director at the Swedish Veterinary Association.

Defensive care means that veterinarians take extra samples, order expensive diagnostic imaging such as ultrasound or MRI and carry out extensive investigations - not primarily because it is urgently necessary for the animal's recovery, but to have their backs covered.

- I don't think there is any vet who would say that you do that for the company to make so much money.

But the notification obligation should be waived, he believes. One can determine a level of care that is reasonable.

- By investing in basic care that might suit the pet owner's wallet, the veterinarian would not feel compelled to carry out the absolute most expensive total solution.

When you have agreed on a level of care, neither party should be able to notify the other, the idea is.

The veterinary companies' trade association, Swedish Veterinary Medicine, is in favor of the proposal.

- We think it's great, it's a great proposal, as long as the care is kept within the framework of healthy animal welfare. Every veterinarian must be able to adapt care to the individual patient's conditions, without risking a recall from the Responsibility Committee, says Emma Terander, branch manager.

The Swedish Competition Authority's report criticized the veterinary clinics for not having price lists for common treatments. According to Rosenquist, this is due to wanting flexibility in the economy.

- The more freedom and air you have in the system, the easier it is to parry changes, inflation and surprises that occur during interventions, he says.

After the criticism, Swedish Animal Health decided that the clinics will take it upon themselves to introduce price lists before the turn of the year, for what is predictable.

- We discussed this in connection with the Swedish Competition Authority's report. But we will never be able to say exactly what it will cost in advance, because you don't actually know before examining the animal, says Emma Terander.

According to Emma Terander, 85 percent of pet owners are "very satisfied with their veterinarian and the services they receive" in the Swedish Quality Index survey.

On DN Debatt, the industry pushes the question back to the politicians - why not lower VAT, if you want to reduce costs? On a bill of SEK 40,000, SEK 10,000 in VAT is added. The state receives just over a billion in revenue annually.

- We wrote the article before the election, after all the politicians started talking about veterinary costs. Part of it was advocacy, to get a discussion going and get them talking to us, instead of about us. A VAT reduction is not a comprehensive solution, but would be a step on the way, she says.

According to the animal welfare organizations, this would not fix the price carousel. Within a few years, the reduction would have been eaten up. The VAT also pays for veterinary training, research, authorities' work with animals and animal welfare issues and the district veterinarians.

- It is also fair that the pet owners pay for this and that it does not burden taxpayers who chose not to have pets, says Magnus Rosenquist.

Emma Terander believes that the criticism of the clinics' high prices is a question for each company. However, according to Swedish Veterinary Medicine, they are not rising at the same rate as before. In 2025, the increase was 3.9 percent, they claim.

- That information comes from our members, when we asked them how much they raised the price.

At the same time, Statistics Norway's official statistics show that the average increase was twice as high at 7.9 percent that year. According to Emma Terander, the difference is explained by the fact that Statistics Sweden measures a limited number of treatments.

So far in 2026, costs are up an average of six percent according to Statistics Norway's statistics. Price increases thus continue at a significantly higher rate than inflation.

Read more: Veterinary prices have skyrocketed: "There are often large costs added"