Castration of beef cattle is common for production and management reasons but causes significant pain. Increasingly, evidence supports routine pain management that improves welfare without compromising outcomes.
Castration pain in cattle has historically been dismissed as acceptable agricultural practice, but scientific evidence of the pain and distress caused by all methods is now unambiguous. Pain management for routine castration is both effective and affordable - the cost of a dose of meloxicam is modest relative to the lifetime value of a steer. The primary barrier to adoption is inertia and the absence of mandatory requirements. Veterinary associations in multiple countries now recommend pain management for all cattle castrations, and some certification schemes require it. A welfare-centered approach to cattle castration uses the youngest feasible age, the least invasive appropriate method, and multimodal pain management as standard practice rather than exception.