Marking to weaning production aspects of lambs provided with <scp>NSAID</scp> analgesia compared with lambs receiving no analgesia at the time of elastrator ring marking

Small, Alison; Belson, Sue; Brewer, H G; Schmoelzl, Sabine

doi:10.1111/avj.13037

Cited by 5 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Other production measures, such as survival rate are strong motivators to introduce pain mitigation strategies in livestock practice. The use of NSAIDs after castration and tail docking in lambs significantly improved lamb survival between marking and weaning in one study ( Small et al, 2020 ). Other studies investigating lamb mortality following marking with or without analgesia have failed to find a significant difference in survival.…”

Section: Measuring Pain In Livestockmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…When animals are in persistent negative affective states and/or pain their feed intake usually decreases leading to a loss in body weight. The evidence for weight loss or reduced growth following husbandry procedures performed without analgesia is equivocal ( Small et al, 2020 ; Stock et al, 2021 ). Bates et al (2015) demonstrated improved milk consumption and average daily weight gain over 15 days in dairy calves that were disbudded by farmers and given NSAIDs as analgesia opposed to calves that were not given NSAIDs.…”

Section: Measuring Pain In Livestockmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Other studies investigating lamb mortality following marking with or without analgesia have failed to find a significant difference in survival. However, these studies were only 28 days in duration ( Lomax et al, 2008 , 2010 ) compared to 75–99 days ( Small et al, 2020 ). Neonatal morbidity and mortality causes significant production losses and is detrimental to animal welfare ( Mellor and Stafford, 2004 ).…”

Section: Measuring Pain In Livestockmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Neuroimmune Interface and Chronic Pain Through the Lens of Production Animals

et al. 2022

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Communication between the central nervous system (CNS) and the immune system has gained much attention for its fundamental role in the development of chronic and pathological pain in humans and rodent models. Following peripheral nerve injury, neuroimmune signaling within the CNS plays an important role in the pathophysiological changes in pain sensitivity that lead to chronic pain. In production animals, routine husbandry procedures such as tail docking and castration, often involve some degree of inflammation and peripheral nerve injury and consequently may lead to chronic pain. Our understanding of chronic pain in animals is limited by the difficulty in measuring this pathological pain state. In light of this, we have reviewed the current understanding of chronic pain in production animals. We discuss our ability to measure pain and the implications this has on animal welfare and production outcomes. Further research into the neuroimmune interface in production animals will improve our fundamental understanding of chronic pain and better inform human clinical pain management and animal husbandry practices and interventions.

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Section: Measuring Pain In Livestockmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Measuring Pain In Livestockmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Measuring Pain In Livestockmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Neuroimmune Interface and Chronic Pain Through the Lens of Production Animals

et al. 2022

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“…While multimodal analgesia is currently recognised as best practice for lambs undergoing lamb marking in Australia [1], of the three studies that used multimodal analgesia, [26,32,91] only the combinations of Tri-Solfen ® with meloxicam and lignocaine and meloxicam are registered for use in sheep (see Table 1). The combination of meloxicam and Tri-Solfen ® provided some level of analgesia in most studies [23,24,33].…”

Section: Nsaidsmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Exploration of Analgesia Options for Australian Sheep

Cohen,

Foss,

Beths

et al. 2024

Animals

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During their lifetime, sheep undergo many painful husbandry and disease processes. Procedures undertaken on the farm, such as tail docking, castration, and mulesing, all cause considerable pain. In addition, sheep may experience painful diseases and injuries that require treatment by veterinary practitioners, and in biomedical research, sheep may undergo painful experimental procedures or conditions. It is important due to ethics, animal welfare, social licence, and, at times, legal requirements for farmers, veterinary practitioners, and researchers to provide pain relief for animals in their care. While there is a heightened awareness of and a greater interest in animal welfare, there remain few licensed and known analgesia options for sheep within Australia. A literature review was undertaken to identify currently known and potential future options for analgesic agents in sheep in farm and biomedical settings. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, opioids, local anaesthetics, α2 adrenoreceptor agonists, and NMDA receptor antagonists are some of the more common classes of analgesic drugs referred to in the literature, but few drugs are registered for use in sheep, with even fewer proven to be effective. Only six analgesic product formulations, namely, lignocaine (e.g., Numocaine®), Tri-Solfen®, ketamine, xylazine, and meloxicam (oral transmucosal and injectable formulations), are currently registered in Australia and known to be efficacious in some types of painful conditions in sheep. The gap in knowledge and availability of analgesia in sheep can pose risks to animal welfare, social licence, and research outcomes. This article presents a summary of analgesic agents that have been used in sheep on farms and in clinical veterinary and biomedical research settings along with details on whether their efficacy was assessed, doses, routes of administration, indication for use, and pain assessment techniques (if any) used. The outcome of this research highlights the challenges, gaps, and opportunities for better analgesia options in sheep.

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“…Non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAID) have also been shown to reduce some pain behaviours and physiological signs of pain following castration and tail docking [ 63 , 64 ]. Small et al [ 65 ] found significantly lower lamb mortality from marking to weaning in ring-docked and castrated lambs treated with the NSAID meloxicam compared to those that received no form of analgesia. This study did not have a handled control group, and the causes of lamb mortality were not recorded, which limits the conclusions that can be drawn.…”

Section: Tail Docking and Castration—science And Policymentioning

confidence: 99%

How Well Does Australian Animal Welfare Policy Reflect Scientific Evidence: A Case Study Approach Based on Lamb Marking

Johnston

Richardson

Whittaker

2023

Animals

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The development and substance of animal welfare policy is subject to a range of social, cultural, economic, and scientific influences that commonly vary within and between countries. Discrepancies in policy can create confusion and mistrust among stakeholders and consumers and limit the ability to create a uniform minimum level of requirements to safeguard animal welfare, as well as create a level ‘playing field’ for farmers when trading with other jurisdictions. The livestock sector is receiving growing scrutiny globally for real and perceived violations of animal welfare, for example, the practice of mulesing in Australia. This article explores animal welfare legislation within Australia and how it reflects the scientific evidence surrounding routine husbandry practices in sheep, including tail docking, castration, and mulesing. While there is some variation between state and territory legislation, the most notable concern is the lack of enforceable recommendations surrounding the evidence-based use of analgesia and anaesthesia for painful husbandry procedures. The age at which these procedures are recommended to be performed is relatively consistent across Australian jurisdictions, but there is a marked difference compared to international legislation. The global context of animal welfare legislation, public perception, and producer perception of these procedures are also discussed, highlighting the difficulty of creating robust animal welfare legislation that promotes a good standard of welfare that is respected worldwide whilst being practical in an Australian setting given our unique geography and climatic conditions.

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Marking to weaning production aspects of lambs provided with NSAID analgesia compared with lambs receiving no analgesia at the time of elastrator ring marking

Cited by 5 publications

References 10 publications

The Neuroimmune Interface and Chronic Pain Through the Lens of Production Animals

The Neuroimmune Interface and Chronic Pain Through the Lens of Production Animals

An Exploration of Analgesia Options for Australian Sheep

How Well Does Australian Animal Welfare Policy Reflect Scientific Evidence: A Case Study Approach Based on Lamb Marking

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