Pain in farmed animals is routinely undertreated — advancing pain management practices represents one of the most impactful welfare improvements available.
The gap between available pain management options and actual use in farm animal production represents one of the most tractable welfare improvement opportunities in agriculture. Effective analgesics exist for all common painful procedures in farm animals — dehorning, castration, tail docking, and difficult births. The barriers to use include cost, veterinary prescription requirements, withdrawal period concerns in food animals, and historical normalization of pain as unavoidable. Research consistently shows that pain relief improves recovery, reduces stress-related production losses, and increases farmer willingness to continue using it once adopted. Pain management programs integrated into national farm assurance schemes have driven significant uptake in countries including the UK, with measurable welfare improvements.