As a nation, we love our pets – and some will do literally anything for them.It’s one of the main reasons why big business has latched on to the gravy train that is the veterinary sector. There’s money – buckets of it – to be made from treating cats and dogs.In 2024, alone we spent some £6.7 billion on veterinary fees. That equates to £390 for every pet-owning household.Most of that income went into the corporate pockets of a handful of companies that dominate the veterinary market: the likes of CVS and Pets At Home (both UK stock market-listed businesses); Medivet, IVC and VetPartners. For example, in the year to March this year, Pets At Home saw its overall underlying profits fall by 30 per cent, but its veterinary arm, Vets For Pets, which owns some 440 practices, went from strength to strength, increasing profits by 10 per cent to £83.8 million.It’s not hard to see why profits for owners of big veterinary practices continue to defy gravity.If a vet says your dog needs an MRI scan, you’re not going to argue with them. You will give them the nod to proceed, even if the cost (upwards of £3,500) will make a big hole in your finances.Similarly, if your tabby cat has cataracts, it’s a no-brainer: you will pay for them to be removed, even though it might cost you up to £6,000. Why are we so compliant? It’s because a pet gives you unconditional love. As a nation, we love our pets – and some will do literally anything for them. It’s one of the main reasons why big business has latched on to the gravy train that is the veterinary sectorWhen I was married we had a lurcher, Tara, who we got from a rescue centre. She was as mad as a box of frogs, yet Tara loved us madly.If I picked up the lead to take her for a walk, she would spin round with excitement. If I came home late at night (a trait of mine in the early 2000s), I would cuddle her and end up sleeping in her basket.Thankfully, Tara didn’t cost us a fortune in terms of vets’ fees. She died quickly – of cancer – but it’s a given that we would have paid anything to prolong her life. We loved her more than we loved each other. In fact, my ex-wife had a bust made of Tara afterwards, which she has kept to this day.On the surface, Thursday’s announcement from the Government of an overhaul of veterinary regulation, in order to give pet owners ‘better protections’, seems like a good move.Labour’s decision to act follows a critical report about the industry from the UK competition watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority. It said public satisfaction with the cost of vet services was ‘low’ – and that competition within the industry was ‘not strong’.The Government’s White Paper includes some sound ideas.Vets will have to publish price lists for common treatments, making it easier for pet owners to shop around, and written prescription fees will be capped at £21.Practices will also have to disclose who owns them. This will allow pet owners to find out whether their local veterinary practice is an independent business or part of a bigger chain.A veterinary ombudsman will also be set up so that pet owners in dispute with a vet about their service can have their complaints independently assessed. It’s a move that consumer group Which? says is ‘sorely needed’.Sue Davies, head of consumer rights policy at Which?, says the ‘inadequacies of complaints and dispute-resolution processes are a particular problem’ and ‘leave people fighting for years to get their voice heard’.Although I’m with Which? on the need for an ombudsman, I have my suspicion that these regulations – well intended though they are – will do little to give pet owners a better or cheaper deal. The market is effectively an oligopoly controlled by companies whose pursuit of profit is relentless. It will remain so once the new regulations come into force. Prices, for sure, will not come down.I also have serious doubts about whether any new regulations will get on to the statute book before the end of Parliament in 2029.To pet owners nationwide, things ain’t going to change in a hurry.So, if you can, put some money aside for any veterinary bill that might come your way in the future (self-insure) or seek out some pet insurance.Alternatively, do what we did, which is gamble on Tara going through life fit as a fiddle. Not to be recommended.