title: A Review of Pain Assessment in Pigs.
abstract: There is a moral obligation to minimize pain in pigs used for human benefit. In livestock production, pigs experience pain caused by management procedures, e.g., castration and tail docking, injuries from fighting or poor housing conditions, "management diseases" like mastitis or streptococcal meningitis, and at parturition. Pigs used in biomedical research undergo procedures that are regarded as painful in humans, but do not receive similar levels of analgesia, and pet pigs also experience potentially painful conditions. In all contexts, accurate pain assessment is a prerequisite in (a) the estimation of the welfare consequences of noxious interventions and (b) the development of more effective pain mitigation strategies. This narrative review identifies the sources of pain in pigs, discusses the various assessment measures currently available, and proposes directions for future investigation.
authors.affiliation: Animal Behaviour and Welfare, Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Scotland's Rural College (SRUC), Edinburgh, UK; Easter Bush Veterinary Centre, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, The University of Edinburgh, Midlothian, UK.
authors.forename: Sarah H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Ison
authors.affiliation: Easter Bush Veterinary Centre, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, The University of Edinburgh , Midlothian , UK.
authors.forename: R Eddie
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Clutton
authors.affiliation: Food and Rural Development, School of Agriculture, Newcastle University , Newcastle upon Tyne , UK.
authors.forename: Pierpaolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Di Giminiani
authors.affiliation: Animal Behaviour and Welfare, Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Scotland's Rural College (SRUC) , Edinburgh , UK.
authors.forename: Kenneth M D
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Rutherford
keywords: pain; pain assessment; pig; review; welfare