Pain management in veterinary medicine has advanced dramatically for companion animals but significant gaps persist across species, particularly for fish, reptiles, and farm animals.
Veterinary pain management welfare reflects the combined influence of scientific understanding, professional training, economic factors, and regulatory requirements. For companion animals in developed countries, pain management standards have risen substantially over two decades as evidence accumulated and professional norms shifted. For farm animals, fish, and reptiles, the gap between evidence and practice remains wide. The scientific evidence for pain experience in fish and reptiles has strengthened considerably, yet clinical practice in these species often lags decades behind the evidence. Economic factors that make pain management costly relative to animal value in production contexts create persistent barriers. Regulatory requirements are the most effective lever for closing these gaps, as they remove the economic calculation from individual clinical decisions.