Frankfurt / Main (dpa / lhe) – The sometimes drastically increased costs for visits to the vet are met with sharp criticism. The state animal protection association announced on Wednesday that the usual treatments would have become drastically more expensive with the new fee schedule. The initial treatment of an injured dog’s paw now costs around 52 euros in the best case instead of around 23 euros – the costs for medicines and bandages are not included.
The new fee schedule came into effect on Tuesday (November 22nd). The State Animal Welfare Association explained that veterinarians are of course entitled to appropriate remuneration. But since there are already signs of a declining order situation in the practices, the question is whether the bill of the legislator, who wants to maintain a nationwide network of practices, clinics and emergency services with the new fees in the long term, will work.
It is to be feared that many injuries and illnesses will remain untreated and that the owners will be forced to “doctor around” themselves. A number of pet owners are already certain that they will have their pet euthanized in the event of complex and therefore costly treatment because they lack the money. It is also problematic that the castration of cats is now almost twice as expensive.
The situation of animal shelters is also a cause for great concern. The higher costs could represent an additional nail in the coffin for individual institutions that are already struggling with the consequences of the higher minimum wage, inflation and declining willingness to donate, the association said. In the animal shelters, there are already inquiries from desperate pet owners who can no longer afford medical care.
