Farm Animal Welfare

Cattle Pain Assessment in Practice

Effective pain assessment in cattle is essential for appropriate analgesia use and welfare monitoring, using validated behavioural and physiological indicators.

Key Facts

The Bovine Pain Scale and grimace scale are validated tools for cattle pain assessment
Cattle show depression, reduced rumination and posture changes with pain
Farmers tend to underestimate cattle pain relative to veterinary assessment
NSAID use for routine procedures including dehorning is recommended but underutilised
Lameness scoring provides a systematic approach to pain assessment in ambulatory cattle

Welfare Considerations

Pain assessment in cattle is improving through validated scales and farmer training programmes. Systematic use of pain assessment tools improves analgesic prescribing and reduces undetected suffering. Vets have a critical role in educating farmers and prescribing appropriate pain relief protocols.

What You Can Do

Ask your vet about validated pain assessment protocols for your cattle herd
Use NSAID analgesics for all routine painful procedures as veterinary guidelines recommend
Support industry training programmes that include pain recognition competencies