A masquerade ball capped off the first night of congress.

Big debate earlier heard of threats and opportunities for companion practices

A night of celebration capped off the first day of the VPMA/SPVS Congress as veterinarians enjoyed a masquerade ball.

There was a a series of awards, prize giving and live music from The Bogus Brothers as the industry came together to dine, drink and dance in spectacular style.

Earlier the congress had seen the big debate about the future of the veterinary industry.

The debate focused on companion animal practices and the perceived threat represented by the rise of corporate practices.

Ned Flaxman of Zoetis, chaired the debate. He outlined the rise of corporate practices predicting that they would account for fifty per cent of the market in just seven years' time.

He also produced figures which show there are too many companion veterinarians in practice. Based on figures showing there are approximately 8.8m pet dogs and around the same number of pet cats, he said the UK market required less than 12,000 companion veterinarians, but had around 15,000. He added there was evidence of a decline in the number of visits per pet.

The big debate featured a panel represented by Simon Innes, chief executive of corporate firm The CVS Group, John Goulding, managing director of the St George's Veterinary Group, independent Murray Jones of Ashman Jones in Bath, and Erwin Hohn, senior partner of Medivest.

There was a consensus that small animal practices can react and adapt to local needs quicker, while large corporate firms have the advantage of buying power.

Murray Jones said he had in fact only recently opened his practice in Bath, after seeing a gap in the local market for a small independent practice to rival the existing nearby corporate firm. The feedback he has received has been good.

"I enjoy going to work. We look after the animals we treat, we look after the clients we serve and we look after the staff we employ," he said.

John Goulding said: "Every threat is an opportunity. Some businesses will seize upon it as an opportunity to differentiate themselves."

Simon Innes said customer loyalty is declining with the recession "perhaps accelerating change."

"Customers are becoming more savvy and they look around more," he added.

Erwin Hohn meanwhile said the real issue is to get people using veterinary services more.

"There is a huge opportunity in the market, We need to look not only at disease prevention but health promotion," he said.

The congress continues today from 8.45am. Follow the day's events on Twitter.