AN END to veterinary surgeons' monopoly control on supplying prescription drugs will help the price of medicine go down according to the Government this week.

From November 17 it will be illegal for vets to charge for writing a prescription following a major review by the Competition Commission.

They will now have to offer a free written prescription rather than just providing the drugs and including them on the bill. The change, ordered by the Department for Trade and Industry, will enable farmers and pet owners to shop around, sourcing medicines from cheaper vets or via a new breed of online pharmacy.

But the move is proving hard to swallow for UK vets, who have warned that more practices may drop large animal work, leaving farmers in the lurch and reducing the numbers of vets able to cope with disease outbreaks like foot-and-mouth or, potentially, bird flu.

"It appears that the DTI are content that a few people making marginal savings justifies exposing the country to greater risks from infectious diseases such as Avian Influenza," said Iain Richards, of the Lakeland division of the British Veterinary Association (BVA).

Mr Richards, of the Kendal-based Westmorland Veterinary Group, argued that practices whose farm income was low might consider abandoning farm work altogether although this would be chiefly on the fringes of urban areas like Lancaster and Preston.

This was because the costs of providing obligatory 24-hour emergency farm cover was expensive and not covered by income from the calls.

"Vets are quite open that this service is subsidised by their medicine sales," he said. "Many farm practices, particularly in marginal areas, depend upon that income to be able to deliver an effective service."

In addition, Mr Richards argued that while the ban looked like good news for consumers, it might mean they ended up paying more. To recover lost income, vets might have to charge up to 20 per cent more for their professional time and clients would still have to buy their medicines on top.

"Vets are perceived as being expensive because people have the NHS - they have no idea what providing medicine costs," said Mr Richards. "It is hideously expensive, particularly the out-of-hours part of it. You can't have cheap fees and cheap drugs and run a practice."

However, the DTI maintains that breaking vets' monopoly remains the best way to push down drug prices which were higher than in other EU countries.

Cumbria's National Farmers' Union president Alistair Mackintosh welcomed the change and said vets were "crying wolf" with claims that practices would abandon farm work.

"I'm conscious of the fact prescription medicines have been reasonably lucrative and have subsidised farm visits but farmers are a big part of their business and they're not going to drop it."

He added: "It's good for the consumer and, at the end of the day, I think it will be good for the vets. They are likely to sell more drugs because they will be more affordable."

The move was also enthusiastically embraced by internet pharmacies who are set to gain considerable new custom.

Geoff Watson, of Middleton-in-Teasdale firm Hyperdrug.com, said: "We deal with animal owners everyday who can't afford the cost of medication, resulting in prolonged suffering and even death for animals. This new legislation should go some way to reducing vet bills."

Opponents to the changing legislation are due to put an early day motion to Parliament.