BCRC Report: Taking Beef Cattle pain management mainstream

Producers add pain medication to their routines and benefit their herds because pain management for beef cattle has evolved significantly in the past two decades

Scientists have gained a greater understanding of what pain looks like in an animal and how reducing pain can affect an animal’s well-being.  

The beef industry has also responded, with the advent of user-friendly, cost-effective pain medications as well as veterinary teams and producers skilled at implementing effective pain mitigation.  

 “With new information about how to better manage pain in cattle, we can make appropriate management decisions to mitigate the health losses associated with pain”

“More veterinarians and producers are recognizing pain in cattle, and we now have a multitude of tools such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAIDs) drugs like Flunixin, Ketoprofen, and Meloxicam, and local anesthesia, such as lidocaine blocks, that we can use to better manage pain,” explains Dr. Jennifer Pearson, DVM, Ph.D. Pearson, a professor at the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (UCVM), studies cow-calf health and reproductive management, including pain mitigation. 

“With new information about how to better manage pain in cattle, we can make appropriate management decisions to mitigate the health losses associated with pain such as illness and loss of production,” says Pearson. 

Pain management drugs, like NSAIDs, require a veterinary prescription. Today, more producers than ever are talking to their veterinarians to discuss pain relief options to help their herds withstand routine painful procedures like castration. As well, the use of pain medication is increasingly part of a producer’s toolbox for treating pain during relatively commonplace events, such as calving or calf sickness. 

Read the full, in-depth article on the BCRC Website!