Pain science advances are transforming our understanding of how animals experience suffering, with implications for welfare assessment and intervention.
Animal pain science has transformed welfare practice over the past two decades. The development of grimace scales - standardized facial expression assessments calibrated against known painful stimuli - provides objective pain measurement for species that cannot self-report. Evidence that pain has emotional and cognitive dimensions beyond pure sensation reinforces the welfare importance of effective pain management. The validation of fentanyl, buprenorphine, and NSAIDs for veterinary use across multiple species has created an expanding pharmacological toolkit for pain management. These advances underpin the welfare case for routine analgesia in livestock procedures that was previously treated as optional.