Recognizing and treating pain in farm animals is a critical welfare issue, as many routine procedures and disease conditions cause significant suffering that often goes untreated.
Pain management in farm animals lags far behind companion animal medicine despite similar physiological capacity for pain. Economic pressures, limited veterinary access, and historical attitudes that farm animals tolerate pain differently than companion animals have all contributed to widespread under-treatment. Modern welfare standards increasingly require procedural pain management, and research consistently shows that effective pain control also improves production outcomes, making the welfare and economic arguments aligned.