Farm Animals

Farmed Pig Acute Pain Recognition: Grimace Scale Application

The Piglet Grimace Scale and adult pig pain assessment tools enable stockpersons to identify and treat acute pain effectively.

Key Facts

The Piglet Grimace Scale uses facial action units to score pain in neonatal pigs
Training stockpersons in grimace scale use improves pain recognition and analgesic use
Adult pigs mask pain as a prey species - grimace scales capture subtle signals
Pain scoring during husbandry procedures including castration guides analgesic decision-making

Welfare Considerations

Pigs experiencing acute pain from injury, disease, or husbandry procedures should receive analgesia. Grimace scale training enables stockpersons to identify subtle pain signals they would otherwise miss. Increased analgesic use following training directly reduces duration of unmanaged pain.

What You Can Do

Support pig stockperson training programmes that include pain recognition assessment
Advocate for mandatory analgesic use protocols for specified husbandry procedures in pig farming
Choose pork from farms with documented pain management practices including analgesic use records