The Australian Society of Animal Production (ASAP) provides a forum for interaction between all stakeholders in the sustainable production of high-quality animal products. Increasingly, consumers of animal products demand not only high-quality and consistent animal products, but also production systems that have a high animal welfare component. Such demands are dramatically changing animal production systems and the concept of 'community licence' is shaping their development. It is becoming increasingly clear that animal industries need to develop 'whole-of-chain' approaches to the application of new technologies. As consumers become more aware of, and involved in, the origins of their food and fibre, it is critical that technological solutions to animal production are developed with consumers in mind. Therefore, Animal Welfare-Meeting Consumer Needs and Increasing Productivity was the theme for the 31st Biennial Conference of ASAP, a joint conference with the
Several sheep-husbandry practices such as mulesing, castration, ear-tagging and tail-docking are currently performed with no, or little, anaesthesia or analgesia. The potential for using electrotherapies to provide analgesia during and after these operations is examined in this review. The most common electrotherapy is transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS). TENS is the application of an electrical current from electrodes placed on the skin. Analysis of a large number of trials in humans and in animal models indicates that TENS provides effective relief from acute and chronic pain, including pain associated with surgery. There is strong evidence now that TENS analgesia operates at the levels of the periphery, the spinal cord and in the brain. The mechanisms involve the autonomic nervous system, the opioid pathways and neurotransmitters involved in descending inhibitory pathways from the brain. Centrally operating pathways mean the current does not have to be applied near the injured site and there is evidence of sustained pain relief lasting hours, days or even weeks post-treatment, particularly after very high-frequency, randomly variable current applications. Treatment of sheep during painful operations with such a current has the potential to provide immediate and possibly sustained pain relief. Combining such a treatment with electro-immobilisation of the animal would be advantageous for sheep-husbandry operations, but there is considerable evidence that high-intensity currents producing tetanic contractions are aversive and probably painful for sheep. Investigations of the application and efficacy of electrotherapies for painful sheep operations should be undertaken.
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