That’s totally for you to decide. We believe there is something special about a veterinary clinic where the Vet(s) that own the clinic, work in the clinic.

Plus supporting a New Zealand-owned veterinary business means the money you spend is invested back into the local clinic, and the New Zealand economy.

There are some other advantages to being independent. These vets are free to make all their own decisions about how they run their clinic, and the protocols they will adopt.

The easiest way to find out is to simply ask them next time you visit.

Or you can search for a list of your local IndieVet clinics here.

Of course, your vet may not be a member of IndieVets but still be locally-owned. (It’s not compulsory to join us!)

In recent years, many New Zealand clinics have been bought by corporate groups. These groups may be owned by Australian, US or European interests.

Some clinics are fully-owned by the corporate group, while others might be majority-owned (e.g the corporate might own 70%, and the original owner might have 30%).

Most of these clinics do not have ‘corporate branding’ as such. They may still look like a New Zealand-owned clinic.

Your local veterinary clinic is effectively running a mini hospital. They’re continually investing in surgical equipment, technology, highly-trained staff and quality premises. (But unlike human GPs or hospitals, they receive no government funding).

The costs and investment required to run their modern ‘hospitals’ are continually rising – which is lot to manage for any business owner.

IndieVets is helping to level the playing field, by giving them collective buying power, and providing access to other support.

Each IndieVet member clinic contributes to the running of the community – by sharing their expertise, ideas, and resources with each other.

Each clinic needs to meet our criteria to become part of IndieVets. As well as being New Zealand-owned, an IndieVet clinic must be committed to high standards of clinical care, treating staff well, and providing a quality service.

These standards are overseen by the collective IndieVets membership.