Provide lifelong vet care and financial support for retired service animals

We want the UK Government to create a national support scheme to provide lifelong veterinary care and financial assistance for retired service animals, including police dogs, military dogs, and police horses.

Service animals protect the public and support the emergency services and armed forces. Many retire with injuries or health conditions linked to their service. Ongoing care costs often fall to former handlers, adopters, or charities. We want a national support scheme or pension to help fund lifelong veterinary care and welfare support for retired service animals.

The government understands the strength of feeling on the welfare of service animals and recognises and greatly values the incredible and vital work service animals carry out alongside our police and military. The government believes these service animals, who often face risks to their own safety and wellbeing, should be able to have a comfortable and healthy retirement. Police forces are responsible for the welfare of their service animals throughout their service and into retirement. Their retirement can be a combination of local arrangements, such as charitable organisations and volunteers, the exact nature being a local decision for the force.

These animals can play a valuable role in protecting the public, supporting emergency services and assisting the Armed Forces, and it is right that their welfare should be taken seriously throughout their working lives and into retirement.

The UK government does not currently have any plans to introduce financial support or a national support scheme to cover veterinary fees for animals, including retired service animals. Arrangements for the care and rehoming of service animals vary depending on the organisation responsible for them, the role they have performed and the circumstances of retirement. Currently, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not cover ongoing fees for service animals following their retirement. With regard to the police, this would come down to the individual police services and how they choose to spend their money – the government would not be able to dictate their funding. The MOD keeps its retirement arrangements under regular review to ensure they continue to deliver the best outcomes for the animals concerned.

The government currently has no plans to change the retirement process for police service animals, including the funding of veterinary care. All operational decisions on the retirement of service animals are made on a force-by-force basis under the responsibility of the Chief Constable.

We are, however, aware of the issue of rising costs for veterinary services and are actively reviewing options to improve price transparency and knowledge of options available for pet owners, including those who take on responsibility for retired service animals.

Between January and March 2026, Defra consulted on reform of the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 (VSA). This was developed in response to calls from the veterinary sector, stakeholders and the public highlighting the need for improvements to the regulatory framework. On 9 July 2026, Defra published a paper (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/our-vision-for-a-thriving-veterinary-sector) responding to the consultation and detailing government’s vision for a thriving veterinary sector through reform of the VSA.

The paper also sets out the government’s response to the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA’s) market investigation into veterinary services for household pets, which has identified £1 billion overspend on vet fees over five years and lack of price transparency across the sector.(https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases/veterinary-services-market-for-pets-review)

Defra accepts the CMA’s recommendations for what should be included in a new VSA as well as supporting the CMA’s proposed remedies. The response confirms Defra’s support for the CMA’s orders alongside the update of the VSA which will enable government to enact those outcomes of the CMA’s market investigation that require legislative change.

As part of wider VSA reform, the government proposes to introduce mandatory regulation of veterinary and animal healthcare businesses. This would strengthen the regulatory framework by enabling consumer protection and competition duties to be placed on the regulator, helping to ensure that businesses operate in ways that support transparency, fairness and informed choice. It would also provide more options for complaints and redress where pet owners have concerns about the service they have received.

The government will continue to consider the evidence from this work and any relevant recommendations as it develops its approach to veterinary sector reform.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs