Pain and Suffering in Farmed Animals: First Steps in Better Understanding and Management

This unique reference covers a spectrum of livestock species, including those involved in food and fibre production and in research. The renowned team of authors addresses numerous aspects related to the care and use of these animals in a range of environments. In addition to a species-specific discussion of pain and suffering, important issues related to common husbandry procedures such as disbudding, castration, tail docking, and more are addressed.

Production animal pain has not yet been treated as a specific topic in a single book, with sentient animals ranging from crustaceans to mammals and everything in between. This volume demonstrates the extent to which the human species is currently dependent on farmed animals and their "managers." By highlighting the large number of animals affected, it shows how even modest improvements in pain management can have significant overall benefits, and thus encourages all who are in a position to recognize and make improvements to do so. 

Clearly structured in four parts, this volume presents pain and suffering in farmed animals in a manner that will inform diverse and often conflicting "stakeholders," i.e., veterinarians, producers, consumers, animal welfare scientists, legislators as well as animal welfare advocacy, environmental and agricultural reform groups. The range of animal species covered and the detailed description of pain types will further engage biologists, biomedical research, and university teaching.

R. Eddie Clutton graduated (BVSC [hons]) from the University of Liverpool in 1981. He worked for three years in the Department of Anaesthesia, The Royal Liverpool Hospital before moving to the University of Virginia – Maryland, USA as an assistant professor in Veterinary Anesthesiology. Became Head of Veterinary Anaesthesia (University of Edinburgh) in 1990. A Diplomate of the European College of Veterinary Anaesthesia, a Member of the Royal College of Anaesthetists, the Animal Welfare Science, Ethics and Law Veterinary Association and the Laboratory Animal Veterinary Association he was editor-in-chief of Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia from 2000 – 2000 and ex- President of the Association of Veterinary Anaesthetists. Awarded a personal Chair of Veterinary Anaesthesiology in 2007, he is currently the Academic Head of Veterinary Anaesthesia and the Clinical Director of the Wellcome Trust Critical Care Laboratory for Large Animals (Roslin Institute). 

Gabrielle C. Musk graduated from Murdoch University in Western Australia with a Bachelor of Science (Veterinary Biology) and a Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery in 1995. Since then, she has worked in clinical practice in rural South Australia and the United Kingdom. She undertook a Residency training program in Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia at the University of Glasgow from 2001 to 2004 and became a Diplomat of the European College of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia in 2005. Returning to Western Australia in 2006, Gabrielle worked in veterinary academia at Murdoch University as a Veterinary Anesthetist and then embarked upon a Ph.D. at the University of Western Australia, investigating the optimal use of positive end-expiratory pressure during high-frequency jet ventilation in preterm lambs as a model for preterm babies. At the end of her Ph.D., she became involved in the care of animals used in research. She is currently involved in teaching, reaching and clinical veterinary work.