Vets as Authority Figures, Knowledge Brokers, Coaches and Mentors

This chapter brings together social scientists and historians to examine how vets’ roles and relationships with farmers in addressing endemic health conditions have changed over time. Reflecting on historical processes of change alongside recent research with vets and farmers in England, the authors show how vet–farmer relationships have broadly shifted through three phases, with vets taking on additional registers that supplement previous interactions. This includes their roles as authority figures, knowledge brokers and, most recently as coaches and mentors. They consider these multiple roles and how implementing care for cattle and sheep in these changing ways has influenced veterinary interactions with both farmers and farmed animals in tackling endemic disease.