Understanding and relieving pain

Livestock animals undergo husbandry procedures to minimise future health risks, but they may be painful at the time of application. The Animal Behaviour and Welfare team has been working for many years to understand indicators of pain following standard husbandry practices in sheep and cattle, drugs that may relieve the pain, and the best, practical methods for administering these drugs. New drugs are available on the market following this research and new administration tools are being developed to ensure producers can readily provide pain relief on farm as needed to improve the welfare of their animals.

 

Efficacy of precisely injected single local bolus of lignocaine for alleviation of behavioural responses to pain during tail docking and castration of lambs with rubber rings – ScienceDirect

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159116303781

A randomised field study evaluating the effectiveness of buccal meloxicam and topical local anaesthetic formulations administered singly or in combination at improving welfare of female Merino lambs undergoing surgical mulesing and hot knife tail docking – ScienceDirect

Marking to weaning production aspects of lambs provided with NSAID analgesia compared with lambs receiving no analgesia at the time of elastrator ring marking – Small – – Australian Veterinary Journal – Wiley Online Library

Animals | Free Full-Text | Analgesia for Sheep in Commercial Production: Where to Next? (mdpi.com)

 

Contact:
Alison Small

Danila Marini