Training farmers and veterinarians to recognize pain in livestock is a key welfare intervention, as food animal pain has historically been underrecognized and undertreated compared to companion animals.
The underrecognition of livestock pain is both a welfare failure and a training gap that education can address. Species-specific grimace scales, behavioral scoring systems, and targeted farmer training programs have shown measurable improvements in pain recognition and treatment rates. Veterinarians play a critical role in normalizing pain management in food animal practice, and pain recognition training is increasingly embedded in agricultural education.