SIR — I do not for one moment question the professionalism of our vets and ancillary staff for which I remain very grateful, but I do baulk at their charges, almost £32 for six minutes of consultation being my latest experience. Just think for a moment, that's the equivalent of £320 an hour for a face to face consultation. That's more than most London-based lawyers and at least three times the cost of private dental care. This is what many pet owners struggle to earn in a week, earned in just one hour. This is not a personal gripe, my dog is lucky I can afford her treatment, which has always been excellent. What worries me most is that too many people avoid taking an ailing pet to the vet these days because it is simply considered to be an excessive extravagance. The result is that there are probably far too many suffering animals out there, and frankly that's too sad to contemplate. What can be done about this? Let's have a closer look. Even if we stretched out those six minutes to a full ten minutes to include the input of notes after the face to face consultation, and a few seconds to tidy up before the next client, that's still nearly £200 per hour per consulting vet, with a potential four to six clients per hour! It certainly adds up. And then there's the medication which I would allege is subject to the same sort of margins, because that's also very expensive. And yes, there are all the overheads involved in running a business, and vets are professionals, and it takes years to qualify and all that, but even so, I for one would be happier if I could understand more clearly what lies behind such charges, and I don't believe I stand alone. Tim Holmes, Minehead.