Endangered Dogs

Keep your dogs safe in the extreme heat expected (22–27 May) Enjoy your long weekend (for those lucky enough to be off), but let’s make sure our dogs do too 🙏 A few suggestions here, please share to make everyone aware ⛱️☀️⛱️☀️⛱️☀️⛱️☀️⛱️☀️⛱️ #HeatWave #Hot #HotDog #MayBankHoliday

🐾 Your lost pet is found. The vet scans the chip. But there are 25 different databases! Your pet spends days in a kennel while the clock ticks waiting for the database to respond with your contact information . This is happening RIGHT NOW in the UK. Sign to fix it 👇 petition.parliament.uk/petit… #MakeChipsCount #PetTheftReform

Since microchipping our pets is mandatory by law, should the pet microchip identification database system operate primarily as a public service rather than a commercial market? In Defra’s response to the petition, asking them to introduce the Central Microchip Portal, they say AMDO (10 of the 25 databases) are developing commercial solutions which will be database-led! This isn’t what we were promised. PETITION LINK: petition.parliament.uk/petit… Most people don’t understand database governance—but you do understand lost pets, delays, and profit being put before animal welfare. The key points you need to understand are: • The system is fragmented across 25 databases • Vets, wardens, police and rescuers cannot quickly find owners • Government promised a central system • They are now letting the industry run it instead • That could mean paywalls, delays, and conflicts of interest • This affects lost pets getting home We only have until the 5 June to reach the 100,000 signatures and trigger a debate in Parliament, to have the opportunity to save the independent Central Microchip Portal, a single lookup point, available 24/7 for all authorised users, free of charge, including all 25 compliant databases. #MakeChipsCount #PetTheftReform #FernsLaw #ScanMe #microchip #dog #cat #AnimalWelfare #MicrochippingMatters #VetTeam #AnimalWarden #Reunite #PetTheftAwarenessWeek #DogTheftAwarenessDay @SAMPAuk_

Please sign this petition, the Defra response is worrying as they are leaving AMDO, 10 of the 25 databases, to look at commercial solutions led by the industry! We don’t know if all 25 databases will be included? We don’t know if animal wardens, vets, and police will be included as authorised users? We don’t know what commercial solutions means, who’s going to have to pay for our pet’s home contact information to reunite us with our lost pets? Too many unanswered questions. 🐾💔🐾 petition.parliament.uk/petit… #MakeChipsCount #MicrochippingMatters #ScanMe #PetTheftReform

Get ready! If you can’t watch this Panorama program, Why Are Vet Bills So High, on Monday 12th January 2026, at 8 pm on BBC 1, set your recorder. From what we have heard this is factual, hard hitting and definitely not ‘vet bashing’. BBC Panorama have investigated rising vet fees, finding they've increased by nearly 50% since 2020, with the program highlighting concerns about high costs for treatments, extensive tests, and lack of price transparency in the industry, showing examples from both large chains and independent vets, all impacting pet owners. Until a change in the law in 1999, only qualified veterinary surgeons could own vet clinics. This meant most practices were small businesses run by partners who knew their patients and played an important role in the community, just as in the cosy 1980s TV series All Creatures Great and Small. In the last few decades, though, big businesses have been buying up practices at a furious pace, drawn by their often healthy profit margins, which could be increased by consolidating services under a big corporate umbrella. Vets are also regarded as “recession-proof”, as Britons will cut back on just about everything else to prioritise their pets. The “Big Six" corporate groups dominating UK veterinary care are IVC Evidensia, CVS Group, Medivet, Pets at Home, Linnaeus, and VetPartners, together owning nearly 60% of practices, leading to scrutiny from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) over rising prices and market dominance, with concerns about private equity influence. The "Big Six" in Detail: IVC Evidensia: The largest group, backed by private equity and Nestlé, with over 1,000 practices and emergency services. CVS Group: Owns hundreds of practices, diagnostic labs, and crematoriums. Medivet: A large multinational group controlling hundreds of UK centres, including famous locations like Skeldale Veterinary Centre. Pets at Home: A major retailer also owning numerous vet practices, often through joint ventures. Linnaeus: Another significant corporate player in the market. VetPartners: One of the major consolidators, also facing regulatory attention. Why They're in the News: Market Consolidation: These six companies have acquired around 1,500 independent practices since 2013, fundamentally changing the UK landscape. Price Increases: Pet owners have seen significant price hikes, almost doubling inflation, prompting Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) investigations into potential lack of competition. Private Equity Influence: Several of these groups (like IVC and Medivet) are heavily backed by private equity firms, aiming for profits, which adds to industry concerns. The overall UK veterinary services market is estimated to be worth approximately £7.2 billion to £7.3 billion in 2025. While a precise market value for just the corporate-owned portion is not readily available, their ownership of the majority of practices means they account for a significant portion of the total market revenue. IVA one of the major care providers is already warning that the BBC risks sharing a “biased and inaccurate view” of the sector in a forthcoming broadcast: vettimes.com/news/business/p… There is a debate in the @WelshGovernment on Tuesday, 20th January 2026: Prompted by the tireless work of Welsh campaigner Dr Linda Joyce-Jones, who has already uncovered widespread problems: no price transparency, huge hikes in fees, overcharging for medicines and treatment, and little to no recourse when things go wrong. Linda’s UK petition link: you.38degrees.org.uk/petitio… Facebook page: facebook.com/share/1XSZQauaR…

Please sign and repost this important petition: petition.parliament.uk/petit… Introduce a Central Microchip Portal to help reunite missing pets without delay Update from Karen Harding, a key figure in the reunification of missing pets. “We check chips of lost, found and stolen dogs on a daily basis . . . The fact that some databases still don’t have the facilities to allow organisations, vets, wardens to check chips without calling them (during office hours) is ridiculous in this day and age. These databases are NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE, one in particular took 7 days to get back to a dog warden with owner details 😡 One central place, one login to get owner details or to check a pet’s details are up to date is KEY!! It makes no sense at all for any of these companies (databases) to oppose this. If they do they certainly don’t have the pet/owner interests at heart. Please do keep sharing, signing and spreading the word! This is vital to keeping everyone’s pets safe within a very confusing system 🙏 PLEASE SIGN, WE CAN’T GET THE CHANGES THAT ARE URGENTLY NEEDED WITHOUT YOU THANK YOU 🐾❤️🐾 #MakeChipsCount #CentralMicrochipPortal #PetsAreFamily #ScanMe #FernsLaw #TheftByFinding #PetTheftReform #PetAbduction #cat #dog #reunite #MicrochippingMatters