Charities like the Blue Cross are reporting not only an increase in demand for their services, but increased operating costs too.
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00:00Well, we've seen demand rise in both our hospitals, but also through our veterinary care fund,
00:08and that gives us the most kind of stark demonstration that people are struggling with veterinary
00:12bills.
00:13So last year, we had about 23 practices that were actively engaged with accessing our support
00:19fund.
00:20This year, that's grown to 1,300 in the space of a few months, and that's people that are
00:26going to their vets, struggling to afford the bills, and that the vets are trying to
00:29help them in making that treatment affordable, but contacting us for charitable support.
00:35What factors do you think have led to that sharp rise in pet owners and veterinary practices
00:40seeking the help of charities?
00:42Well, the rise in veterinary costs is quite complex.
00:44We have a workforce crisis, but there's also rising costs with things like medicines, rates,
00:52you know, bills, things like that.
00:53So at Blue Cross, we've seen an increasing cost of a million pounds to our cost base
00:57in the last year.