Pigs conceal pain as a prey species defence mechanism, making accurate pain assessment challenging but critically important for welfare. Validated tools enable recognition and treatment of pig pain.
Pig pain assessment is hampered by the stoic nature that served their wild ancestors well but allows suffering to accumulate unnoticed in farm settings. The welfare obligation to recognise and treat pain requires active assessment tools rather than waiting for obvious signs. Facial grimace scales, validated for acute pain assessment, enable non-invasive evaluation of procedures and conditions causing pain. The chronic pain of arthritis, respiratory disease, or tail wound infection requires different indicators — reduced activity, altered feeding patterns, social withdrawal. Investment in stockperson training in pig pain recognition produces welfare improvements that no amount of analgesic availability can achieve without the diagnostic skill to identify animals in need of treatment.