Veterinary public consultation fails to grasp the point

Veterinary public consultation fails to grasp the point

Veterinary surgeon Iain Booth of leading online veterinary supplies retailer [mod edit] has voiced his concerns at the outcome of the public consultation on Veterinary Medicines Regulations published by The Veterinary Medicines Directorate this year.

Although the British Veterinary Association has responded positively to the report which tightens up on the sale of veterinary medicines on the internet, Mr Booth suggests that the measures are likely to prove ineffective against the danger of counterfeit medicines coming in from abroad.

He explains “Although the spirit of the coming change is good in principal and something which reputable online suppliers have already embraced by trading responsibly, the consultation report fails to grasp the reality of the fact that the UK cannot isolate itself effectively and so the measures will achieve very little other than to restrict UK business”.

Mr Booth believes that whilst other European countries, those outside the EU and even the Channel Islands remain free from regulation, existing rogue online sellers will continue to ship from outside the UK, thereby finding a viable loophole. Even with a co.uk web address, an online retailer can ship their products from elsewhere.
A worse scenario for the UK economy is that legitimate online retailers may decide to ship from outside the country too, not in order to sell counterfeit supplies, but simply to escape the increased restriction and cost implication of licenses - which can only impact in job losses.

It is possible that the UK will be the only country with these stipulations. Quite apart from the economic implications, the danger with counterfeit medicines is that they look genuine, but are placebos at best and potentially dangerous to our pets. Mr Booth doubts that the VMD will allocate resources to offer sufficient education to the public about this issue, believing that the use of a new logo to distinguish reputable and approved websites is likely to mean very little to the average pet owner who is simply seeking to buy their regular pet medication more cheaply than from their local vet.

A far more real problem that needs to be addressed, says Mr Booth, is the issue of faxed or emailed prescriptions. Fundamental to the opening of the market just five years ago was the ability for pet owners to have a prescription fulfilled anywhere, rather than only by the veterinary surgery that had prescribed it.
Although this has proved a huge growth area for,[mod edit] as a veterinary surgeon himself, Mr Booth stipulates that[mod edit] customers must send in the original POM-V prescription before the medicines are despatched. Fax or email copies are not deemed acceptable as there is no trackable single number on a prescription. Most internet veterinary pharmacies are equally responsible, but there is a widespread problem whereby some will accept copies. These are being exploited by owners sending copies of the same prescription several times and to more than one retailer. This is an area of POM-V legislation that could – and should – be improved, he suggests.

At the heart of the VMD report he perceives a massive irony. Along with opening up the fulfilment of POM-Vs (that’s Prescription Only Medicines) five years ago, there was also a de-classification of a significantly large percentage of POM-Vs to NFA-VPS status (that’s Non Food-Producing Animal – Veterinary Pharmacist or Suitably Qualified Person). The purpose behind this change, which includes the flea and worming products constituting some of the industry’s biggest sellers, was to open the market further, allowing them to be purchased without registration or prescription. By contrast, Mr Booth suggests, this year’s changes are symptomatic of an attempt to castrate this open and currently self-regulating marketplace which has seen enormous growth for the UK economy.

“If we now have to unduly control the customer during a purchase of an NFA-VPS this defeats the freedom of the web, defeats the point of the declassification of mainline products from POM-V to NFA-VPS and defeats the point of their recent legislation towards opening the vet market.”

The Veterinary Medicines Directorate is an executive body of the government. Iain Booth concludes “The report appears on the surface to be a responsible piece of government legislation, but with greater understanding of the issues it transpires instead to be a symptom of a controlling nanny-state introducing red-tape which will completely fail to control the core problems purported to be the reason for the regulation and instead cripple responsible online retailers.”

[mod edit] has always stated on the home page of its site that ‘All our Pet Meds are sourced by our full time veterinary surgeon from UK suppliers;[mod edit] does not import nor despatch any products from abroad.’

[mod edit] is the UK`s leading online retailer of veterinary supplies for all pet owners, providing a simple and hassle-free way to shop for domestic pet supplies. Available at competitive prices, all medicines are sourced from UK suppliers by Iain Booth, a qualified veterinary surgeon.