The European Union (EU) has made commitments to review all established policies on farm animal welfare, and by the end of 2023 to propose new regulations that will improve farming conditions and phase out the use of cage-based systems. A case study of pig farming in Hungary suggests that in the present status quo, farmers are highly constrained in their ability to make such significant changes to their farming operations; hence, a purely legislative reform on welfare may not deliver the desired changes. Competing socio-economic interests and constraints created by global trade regulations require that reformers extend their efforts from the limited approach of policy review to addressing issues that are well beyond the control of farmers. These include complex economic, legislative, and technology-related concerns. To ensure a truly effective transition, reforms need to address those factors that push production towards the use of large-scale, intensive confinement systems.