Pain recognition and management in livestock is a critical component of good animal welfare but remains inconsistently applied across the global livestock industry.
Farm animals evolved to mask pain as weakness attracts predators, making pain recognition challenging. Specific behavioral indicators including facial expressions, posture, abnormal behaviors, and reduced activity have been validated. Grimace scales for cattle, sheep, and pigs allow systematic pain assessment. Castration, dehorning, disbudding, ear tagging, and injury treatment all require pain management but practice varies enormously. Cost and perceived complexity are barriers to consistent analgesic use. Veterinary leadership in promoting pain management protocols has improved practice in higher-welfare systems. The five domains model explicitly includes pain as a negative welfare state requiring intervention. NSAID and local anesthetic use during routine husbandry procedures is now required in some certification schemes.