Pain relief in cattle: A practitioners perspective

This paper describes the provisional results from a questionnaire survey designed to assess the attitudes of practicing cattle veterinary surgeons towards pain and the use of analgesics in cattle. Over 600 questionnaires were return from practitioners all over the UK. An understanding of the perception and attitudes towards pain by veterinary surgeons is fundamental to the understanding of the use of analgesics in cattle. The preliminary results provide a fascinating insight into how practitioners perceive and treat pain in cattle. Less than half (45.5%) of respondents feel that they have adequate knowledge in this area. Considering the huge impact that recognising and managing pain has on the welfare of the affected animal, this is a cause for concern.