Adequate pain management for animals is limited by regulatory barriers, knowledge gaps, and economic pressures that leave millions of animals undertreated for pain.
The recognition that animals experience pain similar to humans is now well-established scientifically, yet barriers to adequate pain management persist. Farm animals undergoing castration, dehorning, and other husbandry procedures frequently receive no pain relief due to cost and lack of regulatory requirements. Companion animals may receive inadequate post-surgical analgesia. The development of better pain assessment tools and species-appropriate analgesics is an active research area with significant welfare implications.