Small town veterinarians say the margins on many over-the-counter veterinary drugs such as anti-parasitic ivermectin are already so low they only carry them as a service to their farmer clients.
“A lot of large animal veterinarians don’t see the value in carrying products like Ivomec,” said Curt Hagele, the registrar of the Saskatchewan Veterinary Medical Association and former practitioner.
Veterinarians say a single box of anti-parasiticals that accidentally goes unbilled after a farm visit could wipe out three months of profit margins on that line of products.
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Trish Dowling of the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon said many vets are “fed up with making a couple of bucks a box for a $500 product when they know American distributors charge $100 for the same stuff.
“It doesn’t stop at ivermectins. There are plenty of drugs that are a lot higher than the difference in the shipping and exchange rates. … We can’t even get some drugs any more,” she said.
Dowling cited one drug that sells for $70 for four bottles in the United States and in Canada sells for $70 for a single bottle.
“You can’t blame veterinarians for becoming a bit fed up with the unfair pricing issues. They’re the ones who have to pass these costs on to farmers,” she said.
