Pain management in farmed animals remains inadequate despite clear evidence that common procedures and diseases cause significant pain. Closing this gap is a priority for farm animal welfare.
The gap between what is known about pain in farmed animals and what is routinely done to relieve it represents one of the most significant and addressable welfare failures in modern agriculture. There is now strong scientific consensus that cattle, pigs, and sheep feel pain during routine husbandry procedures. The barriers to routine pain relief — cost, veterinary prescription requirements, and habit — are relatively small compared to the welfare benefit of consistent analgesia. Regulatory reform requiring pain relief for listed procedures, combined with farmer education and product accessibility improvements, could close this gap rapidly.