Let’s talk about pain relief in calves

Until recent years, these procedures have often been performed without any form of pain relief.

Providing pain relief during surgical animal husbandry procedures is a better choice for your livestock, your business and your industry as a whole.

Providing pain relief also helps all sectors of the livestock industry to meet these expectations and protect the long-term ‘social licence’ of our industry.

Australian Animal Welfare Standards and key industry organisations, including Meat & Livestock Australia, Beef Sustainability Framework and Animal Health Australia, advocate the provision of pain relief during disbudding, dehorning and castration.

There has been widespread adoption of the provision of pain relief during surgical procedures in beef and dairy cattle over the past decade.

Nearly a third of beef producers in Australia routinely provide pain during surgical animal husbandry procedures, particularly during disbudding and dehorning, but less so during spaying and castration. Combined, these producers account for about 40 per cent of the national herd.

The Australian beef industry is committed to the development and adoption of stress-free alternatives to surgical animal husbandry procedures.

Until practical and cost-effective alternatives are available, the industry aspires to 100 per cent adoption of pain relief for these procedures by 2030.

Animals experience acute (fast) and chronic (slow) pain during and after animal husbandry procedures.

This pain can be alleviated via the administration of anaesthetic or analgesic products.

In general, local anaesthetics provide rapid relief from acute pain but are short-acting. NSAYSs provide longer relief from chronic pain but are less effective in relieving acute pain.

Anaesthesia refers to loss of physical sensation with or without loss of consciousness. Local anaesthetics, such as Tri Solfen, reduce or eliminate pain by blocking the nerve signals from damaged tissue that are responsible for the sensation of pain.

Examples include lignocaine and bupivacaine, which are commonly used to provide pain relief in humans. Lignocaine provides immediate (within 60 seconds) pain relief on surgical wounds.

Bupivacaine provides longer-acting pain relief on surgical wounds.

Analgesia refers to pain relief without total loss of feeling or consciousness.

Common analgesic products include Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAYSs), which block the synthesis of prostaglandins that cause inflammation, swelling and pain.

They are typically used to reduce inflammation, pain and fever in humans. NSAYSs take 15-30 minutes to take effect and can provide pain relief for 24-72 hours.

Examples include meloxicam, which is available in buccal paste or injectable formulations.

Best practice guidelines recommend the provision of acute AND chronic pain relief (i.e. multi-modal programs) during disbudding, dehorning and castration.

Ideally, this should involve the administration of an anaesthetic to manage acute pain and an analgesic to manage chronic pain.

There are practical and economic limitations to implementing best practice pain relief programs.

For example, some products must be prescribed and administered by a veterinarian, which may not always be feasible.

Likewise, there is currently no practical option to address acute pain following ring castration in cattle.

In most situations, best practice pain relief for calves will involve the concurrent use of Tri-Solfen in combination with a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (e.g. meloxicam).

All three products are readily available from your rural supplier or veterinarian.

Tri-Solfen is the first choice for acute and lasting pain relief (up to 24 hours) following surgical procedures (e.g. disbudding, dehorning and castration) in calves.

This easy-to-apply, spray-on gel formulation provides immediate and lasting pain relief, reduces bleeding, protects against infection and facilitates wound healing.