Mastitis is the most common disease of dairy cows, causing significant pain and millions of cases annually, with pain management remaining inadequate in much of commercial dairy production.
Mastitis pain is one of the most prevalent sources of avoidable suffering in dairy production. A cow with acute mastitis has a hot, swollen, painful quarter and may show systemic signs of fever and depression. Treating the infection with antibiotics without addressing the acute pain leaves the animal suffering for the duration of the inflammatory response. NSAIDs that reduce inflammation and pain are available, effective, and improve clinical outcomes alongside welfare - yet many farmers do not use them routinely. Changing the treatment norm to include routine NSAID administration for clinical mastitis would prevent enormous cumulative suffering across dairy herds.