Livestock

Livestock Pain Recognition and Assessment

Recognising pain in farm animals is essential for timely veterinary intervention.

Key Facts

Animals evolved to hide pain to avoid appearing vulnerable
Grimace scales have been validated for mice, rats, rabbits, and horses
Cattle, pigs, and sheep grimace scales are in development
Stockperson training improves pain recognition outcomes

Welfare Considerations

Unrecognised and untreated pain causes ongoing suffering in farm animals. Conditions like lameness, mastitis, and post-surgical pain are often undertreated because pain is missed or underestimated. Evidence-based pain assessment tools and training for stockpeople are key to ensuring animals receive appropriate analgesia promptly.

What You Can Do

Support development of validated pain scales for livestock
Advocate for pain management training in veterinary and farming curricula
Choose producers demonstrating use of analgesia protocols
Back research into multimodal pain assessment tools for farm species