Timely veterinary care and effective pain management are fundamental welfare requirements that are inconsistently applied in commercial pig production. Improving pain recognition skills in farm workers directly reduces preventable suffering.
Pain recognition in pigs is a foundational welfare skill that determines whether suffering is identified and treated promptly or persists unnoticed. Pigs that appear normal while standing may be experiencing significant pain from lameness, respiratory disease, or reproductive problems visible only through careful behavioral observation. Training farm workers to use validated tools like the Pig Grimace Scale improves detection rates. Once detected, pain management in pigs is effective — NSAIDs provide measurable behavioral improvement within hours. The combination of better detection and appropriate treatment represents one of the most impactful welfare improvements achievable within existing commercial systems.