Farm animal veterinary care faces structural barriers that result in systematic under-treatment of pain and disease. Understanding these barriers points toward systemic solutions.
Farm animal veterinary welfare is constrained by economic structure more than by knowledge or motivation. Vets know how to improve farm animal welfare; the system rarely pays them to do so proactively. Health planning visits, welfare assessments, and pain management recommendations generate costs that competitive market pressures squeeze out. The solution requires structural change: mandatory vet-farmer partnership for livestock keepers above a certain size, inclusion of veterinary welfare costs in premium product pricing, and reform of farm payment schemes to reward welfare outcomes. Individual vets working within constrained systems deserve recognition and support for the welfare improvements they achieve despite structural barriers.