5 minute read
VET’S VIEW
Using analgesics to manage pain can increase productivity and reduce suffering and reliance on antimicrobials in dairy systems. Understanding the welfare and regulatory considerations of pain management interventions is important. Debbie James reports.
Benefits of pain relief
Ca le experience pain but they are good at masking it. Procedures such as disbudding or castration are unquestionably painful and so too is pain resulting from a whole range of conditions, including pneumonia, scour and mastitis.
Emily Craven, ruminant clinical director at the Oakwood Veterinary Group, advises stockmen and women to apply a simple test to gauge when an intervention is needed to mitigate pain.
Acid test
She says: “My acid test is ‘if you think a procedure or illness is something which might have you reaching for the paracetamol, that animal needs pain relief’.
“In terms of welfare, if something hurts, the cow or calf is going to be more comfortable if you give her an analgesic.”
Using a local anaesthetic to numb an area before a procedure should not be seen as a reason to not give pain relief too, Ms Craven adds.
“A er procedures such as disbudding, the anaesthetic quickly wears o . A non-steroidal anti-in ammatory drug [NSAID] is going to last much longer, depending on the duration of action of the product used.” e bene ts of pain relief for painful procedures, such as castration and disbudding, are widely acknowledged and supported by eld trials.
In the case of illness such as calf scours, normally caused by viruses, bacteria and protozoans, the use of NSAIDs can help reduce in ammation and scarring in the gut.
Aside from the obvious welfare bene ts, production is enhanced if animals su er less pain; as a result they will o en return to normal feeding and other activities much faster than they would without pain relief, usually resulting in be er growth, feed conversion e ciency or milk production.
Ruminants o en do not show signs of pain to the same degree as humans, because as prey animals, they have evolved to mask it.
Ms Craven says: “We hear farmers talk of their livestock being stoic when it comes to certain procedures and that they are ring on all four cylinders a er
The benefits of pain relief for procedures such as disbudding are widely acknowledged and supported by field trials.
a procedure. It is true that a cow may not overtly show pain and I think that is why traditionally pain relief has not featured highly in farming systems.”
And while farmers might be right in suggesting their animals do ne without that intervention, Ms Craven says: “What I would say is that they do much be er with it.”
Pain reduction at castration, for instance, reduces the cortisol release and stress responses which impair immune function.
As a result, the calf will return to normal feeding and other activities in a much faster time than they would without any pain relief. ere are visual cues farmers can use to assess when an animal is in discomfort, for instance a er
being subjected to acute pain from disbudding calves show increased behavioural responses, such as ear icking and head shaking.
But through greater use of technology in dairy systems, including automatic calf feeders and electronic tags, farmers have actual performance data at their ngertips which re ects when an animal is in pain.
Discomfort
For instance, a calf will not feed as frequently and growth will be checked; in cows, when milk production is down it can be an indicator of discomfort, says Ms Craven.
She says: “Historically, farmers might have perceived that an animal was doing okay, but they now have evidence which might show otherwise.”
Regulatory frameworks are now in place which make it a legal requirement to protect animals from pain, including the Code of Recommendation for Welfare.
Aside from these, many milk buyers also demand proactive pain management of their suppliers, and changes to the Red Tractor assurance scheme from November 1, 2021, includes
stronger recommendations for the use of anti-in ammatory pain relief in calves.
Under Red Tractor, health plans must focus on proactive management to help farm improvement and this covers anaesthetic, analgesic and non-steroids; these plans need to be reviewed and signed o by the farm vet at least annually. Ms Craven says: “At the end of the day, pain management is an absolute requirement.
“Most farmers who have a herd health plan are registered with Red Tractor and it is speci ed in that.”
Administration of these products must be entered in the medicine records.
Ms Craven says products which provide relief pain should be used in discussion with the farm vet. e duration of action of NSAIDs is variable between products.
Ms Craven says: “It is best to speak to your vet for protocols.”
While there is a cost to using NSAIDs, there is a cost bene t, Ms Craven adds.
She says: “ ere is evidence of increased production, of be er growth in calves and be er milk production in the adult cow.” e welfare argument for their use, however, should always trump the economic one, Ms Craven says.
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