Bovine pain management

Question 1

Pain

Answer 1

-unpleasant sensory and emotional experience linked with tissue damage
*pain is subjective= each individual is different

Question 2

Responses to pain

Answer 2

*responses include: changes in behaviour, slow growth, impaired breeding, stress, disregard of body care

Question 3

Pain indicators

Answer 3

-no gold standard to assess pain in animals
-needs to be validated, appropriate based on specific procedures
-repeatable/reproducible

Question 4

Animal protection act

Answer 4

-Remember: no person responsible for an animal shall cause or permit animal to be in distress
*does not apply if the distress results from an activity carried in accordance with accepted practices

Question 5

Animal protection regulations

Answer 5

Dynamic documents based on scientific evidence
-BUT unfortunately industry shapes the standards and there are loose requirements based no resource based measurements

Question 6

Position statements

Answer 6

-specific for different procedures for painful procedures
-tells us the vet expectations

Question 7

Painful procedures

Answer 7

-castration
-dehorning (75% are polled genes but others need dehorning)
-branding
-Other procedures (dystocia, injuries, etc.)

Question 8

Pain drug use

Answer 8

-based on cost, efficacy, practicality

-Less pain medications used for castration, dehorning, and disbudding

-More pain meds used for procedures that appear to be more painful (eg. C section, Dystocia, digit amputation)

Question 9

Castration and dehorning pain management trends

Answer 9

-Age: young animals; better and less pain

-Originally completed without pain control; but now many regulations have changed
1.If bulls over 6mths of age for castration=need pain med
2. If dehorning (not disbudding)= need pain med

Question 10

Castration purpose

Answer 10

-avoids unwanted breeding, reduce aggression, improve carcass quality

Question 11

Castration requirements

Answer 11

BEEF
1. castrate as young as possible
2. Castrate performed by competent personnel with proper instruments
3. Seek guidance from vet on method, timing, pain control
4. Use pain control to mitigate pain associated with castration in bulls older than 6mths

DAIRY
1. procedure done early with local anesthesia and systemic analgesia

Question 12

Castration methods

Answer 12

1. banding (older animals fall off quicker than younger animals)

2.burdizzo (uncommon)

3.surgical/newberry knife and Emasculator

Question 13

Who performs castrations?

Answer 13

Older heavier animals- likely vets

Younger lighter animals= procedures

Question 14

Castration preferences

Answer 14

• all methods cause pain

-preferred methods based on age and experience

-youngest animals show less signs of pain

Question 15

Acute vs chronic pain in castration

Answer 15

Acute: surgical / burdizzo methods

Chronic: banding

Question 16

Swelling in castrations

Answer 16

*based on age

Banding: 21-35days
Surgical: 7-14 days

Question 17

Dehorning/debudding purpose

Answer 17

-conducted to decrease the risk of injury for handlers and other cattle, and minimize economic loss due to carcass bruising

Question 18

Beef code of practice for dehorning

Answer 18

1. disbud calves as early as possible (less than 2-3mths)
2. Dehorn performed by competent personnel with proper instruments
3. seek vet advice. use pain control to mitigate

Question 19

Disbudding/dehorning tools

Answer 19

-caustic paste
-hot iron
-keytone dehorner
-horn cutter
-gouge
-wire saw
-Barnes type scoop dehorner

Question 20

Dairy code of practice for dehorning

Answer 20

1. horn bud removeal done by 2mths of age (only exceptional circumstances after that)
2. Banding not acceptable method of dehorning
3. When removing buds or horns, local anesthsia and systemic analgesia must be provided. Bleeding must be controlled

Question 21

Branding purpose

Answer 21

Permanent ID, easy to ID from a distance and legally accepted as proof of ownership
*community pastures, lending institutions and export

Other options: collars, ear tags, tattoos,

Question 22

Branding code of practice

Answer 22

Dairy: not to be branded

Beef
-all cattle must be ID’d by ear tag
-must be performed with proper equipment, restraint, and by competent personnel
-do not brand wet cattle

Question 23

Pain mitigation strategies

Answer 23

-less invasive in young animals (wound smaller, less blood loss, recover more quickly)
-performed by competent operator using clean, properly maintained tools
-painful procedures not performed during times when animal experiencing other stressors

Question 24

Drugs for pain control

Answer 24

-anesthetics cause short lived numbness in local area. require precise administration and time to be effective
Eg. NSAIDS

Question 25

Meloxicam

Answer 25

-labelled for disbudding in calves less than 3mths of age

Cattle:17.5 hours half life
Calves: 26hrs half life

Question 26

Meloxicam

Answer 26

-Labelled for band castration
-give 1-2hours before procedure (not very practical)
-Half lives: cattle 28hrs, calves 40hrs

Question 27

Flunixin meglumine

Answer 27

-topical application lasting 6.4hrs
-NSAID

Question 28

Ketoprofen

Answer 28

-NSAID
-good because plasma half lives (cows 2hrs, calves 0.4hrs) so can go to slaughter
*treated animals cannot be slaughtered for 24hrs after use

Question 29

Lidocaine

Answer 29

-used for infiltration, nerve blocking, or epidural anesthesia
*buffered with Na bicarbonate

Question 30

Uses of lidocaine

Answer 30

1.Dehorning- cornual block with local anesthesia, and analgesia

3. Castration: intratesticular/ring block spermatic cord-neck scrotum/ epidural

Question 31

Xylazine

Answer 31

-sedative, analgesia, muscle relaxant
-label use for dehorning, castration

Question 32

Acetylsalicylic acif

Answer 32

-anti inflammatory, analgesic
-label for symtomatic relief of pain

Question 33

Four S’s of livestock management

Answer 33

1. Suppress- make changes such as polled genes to make procedures not needed
2. Substitute: refine how procedure is performed to reduce pain
   eg. alternative ID methods, disbudding
3. Sooth- use analgesics and anesthsia to prevent pain before procedure
   Eg. lidocaine, NSAIDs
4. Supplement: back up the initial pain mitigation with longer acting analgesic
   eg. long lasting NSAID, lidocaine bands