EURCAW Ruminants & Equines has added a new Welfare Topic on Pain and Stress. This Welfare Topic aims to assist Competent Authorities and other stakeholders with issues related to painful and stressful procedures performed on ruminants and equines.

This welfare topic currently contains a thematic factsheet and an indicator factsheet on “Outcomes of painful and stressful procedures in cattle”.

Painful procedures in farm animals are referred to as non-therapeutic operations and procedures that involve interference with or the removal of sensitive tissue or bone structure and are part of routine management. The rationale behind such procedures, which may be carried out by farmers, other qualified farm personnel, or veterinarians, is threefold: (1) identification purposes; (2) reducing the risk of injury to the animal, other animals, or caretakers; and (3) commercial reasons, such as improving production efficiency or meat quality.

Frequently performed procedures in dairy and beef cattle include identification marking (e.g. ear-tagging, ruminal bolus, injectable transponder, branding, notching), disbudding (removal of the horn bud before it attaches to the skull), dehorning (removal of horn tissue after it is attached to skull), castration and less often spaying (i.e. female castration), tail docking, teat clipping, and nose ringing. Handling during painful procedures is stressful for the animals and thus methods of restraint should be performed with care e.g. adopting low stress handling techniques and using appropriate equipment to restrain animals. All procedures should aim to minimise pain, stress and fear in the animals, as part of a good treatment.

For more information, see the new Welfare Topic: Pain and Stress on our website.