References
Use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs at calving
Abstract
In recent years farmers, veterinary surgeons, and consumers have all shown increasing awareness of pain in cattle (and its associated negative welfare impacts), and accordingly there is increased focus on the use of analgesia following painful procedures, such as disbudding and castration. Calving is a necessary event for cows and their calves, and is painful; however, pain-relief is not routinely provided, particularly to calves. This article reviews the literature on non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug usage around calving to aid practitioners in making evidence-based decisions regarding management of calving-related pain in cows and calves.
Calving is a necessary event for productive cows; assisted parturition is common and is most frequently performed by farmers (Egan et al, 2001). While difficult calving is believed to be painful and stressful for cows and their calves, data to support this view are limited. Previous studies have found that veterinary surgeons and farmers often administer analgesia to cows, and less commonly calves, following assisted parturition (Laven et al, 2009; Moggy et al, 2017; Remnant et al, 2017). However, results of existing studies investigating analgesia administration after calving are conflicting and very few studies report analgesia effects in newborn calves. As such, while it is well described that cattle experiencing painful conditions, or following surgery, benefit from provision of analgesia (Coetzee, 2013; Herskin and Nielsen, 2018), the benefits of analgesic usage at calving are less clear. This article aims to review the literature on analgesia usage around calving to aid practitioners in making evidence-based decisions regarding management of calving-related pain in cows and calves. For a more general overview of bovine analgesia, readers are referred to relevant reviews in this journal and elsewhere (e.g. Orr et al, 2014; Laven, 2020; Reader et al, 2020; Steagall et al, 2021).
Register now to continue reading
Thank you for visiting UK-VET Companion Animal and reading some of our peer-reviewed content for veterinary professionals. To continue reading this article, please register today.