The cost of veterinary care is a significant barrier to animal welfare for many pet owners, with insurance and welfare safety net programmes addressing some but not all access gaps.
Veterinary access inequality creates a two-tier system of companion animal welfare in which the quality and timeliness of care an animal receives is substantially determined by their owner's financial circumstances. This welfare equity issue affects both acute conditions, where delayed treatment worsens outcomes, and chronic disease management, where ongoing medication costs may be unaffordable without insurance. Economic euthanasia, where animals are euthanised because treatment is unaffordable rather than because their prognosis is hopeless, represents a significant welfare and ethical challenge for the veterinary profession. The development of veterinary charity programmes, income-tested assistance funds, and more innovative insurance products has expanded access, but gaps remain particularly for low-income communities where pet ownership rates are high. The companion animal welfare agenda should include veterinary access equity alongside clinical care standards.