Behavioural pharmacology uses drugs that affect animal behaviour to probe the neural basis of suffering and wellbeing, providing insights that can improve welfare across species.
Behavioural pharmacology provides powerful tools for investigating the subjective experience of non-human animals. When analgesic drugs reduce grimace scale scores and restore normal behaviour in fish following injurious procedures, this constitutes evidence that the fish were experiencing something functionally analogous to pain. This evidence base has directly informed welfare legislation expanding protections to fish and crustaceans. The field continues to provide mechanistic understanding of how animals experience suffering and wellbeing, enabling more targeted welfare interventions.