Pain management in farm animals has advanced significantly but remains underprovided in many production contexts. Understanding current best practice drives better welfare outcomes at herd and flock level.
Pain management in livestock has improved significantly but implementation gaps remain large. Research consistently shows that procedures performed without analgesia cause significant pain and physiological stress that impairs recovery and productivity. Pre-emptive multimodal analgesia - combining NSAIDs with local anaesthetic before procedures - provides superior pain control to either alone. Welfare certification schemes that require analgesia for specific procedures create the market incentives for adoption. Education and accessible, affordable analgesics are the remaining barriers to universal pain management in farm animal practice.