The Neuroimmune Interface and Chronic Pain Through the Lens of Production Animals

Johnston, Charlotte H.; Whittaker, Alexandra L.; Franklin, Samantha; Hutchinson, Mark R.

doi:10.3389/fnins.2022.887042

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 149 publications

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“…Our current understanding of the degree of influence these factors have on pain experience is limited. There is growing evidence from the human and rodent literature [ 22 ] suggesting longer-lasting effects that we have not appreciated as yet and have not been considered in legislative decisions. In the following sections, we will discuss the scientific evidence on the impact of different methods of performing common husbandry procedures, the ages at which they are performed, and associated pain mitigation strategies.…”

Section: What Is Lamb Marking?mentioning

confidence: 99%

How Well Does Australian Animal Welfare Policy Reflect Scientific Evidence: A Case Study Approach Based on Lamb Marking

Johnston

Richardson

Whittaker

2023

Animals

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The development and substance of animal welfare policy is subject to a range of social, cultural, economic, and scientific influences that commonly vary within and between countries. Discrepancies in policy can create confusion and mistrust among stakeholders and consumers and limit the ability to create a uniform minimum level of requirements to safeguard animal welfare, as well as create a level ‘playing field’ for farmers when trading with other jurisdictions. The livestock sector is receiving growing scrutiny globally for real and perceived violations of animal welfare, for example, the practice of mulesing in Australia. This article explores animal welfare legislation within Australia and how it reflects the scientific evidence surrounding routine husbandry practices in sheep, including tail docking, castration, and mulesing. While there is some variation between state and territory legislation, the most notable concern is the lack of enforceable recommendations surrounding the evidence-based use of analgesia and anaesthesia for painful husbandry procedures. The age at which these procedures are recommended to be performed is relatively consistent across Australian jurisdictions, but there is a marked difference compared to international legislation. The global context of animal welfare legislation, public perception, and producer perception of these procedures are also discussed, highlighting the difficulty of creating robust animal welfare legislation that promotes a good standard of welfare that is respected worldwide whilst being practical in an Australian setting given our unique geography and climatic conditions.

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Section: What Is Lamb Marking?mentioning

confidence: 99%

How Well Does Australian Animal Welfare Policy Reflect Scientific Evidence: A Case Study Approach Based on Lamb Marking

Johnston

Richardson

Whittaker

2023

Animals

Self Cite

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Sex impacts pain behaviour but not emotional reactivity of lambs following ring tail docking

Marini

Monk

Campbell

et al. 2023

PeerJ

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Studies in humans have shown sex differences in response to painful events, however, little is known in relation to sex differences in sheep. Understanding sex differences would enable improved experimental design and interpretation of studies of painful procedures in sheep. To examine sex differences in response to pain, 80 lambs were tested across five cohorts of 16. The lambs were penned in groups containing two male and two female lambs with their respective mothers. Lambs were randomly allocated from within each block to one of four treatment groups; FRing–Female lamb, ring tail docked without analgesia, MRing–Male lamb, ring tail docked without analgesia, FSham–Female lamb, tail manipulated and MSham–Male lamb, tail manipulated. Following treatment, lambs were returned to their pen and were video recorded for 45 mins for behavioural observations of acute pain and posture. An hour after treatment, lambs then underwent an emotional reactivity test that consisted of three phases: Isolation, Novelty and Startle. Following treatment, Ring lambs displayed more abnormal postures (mean = 2.5 ± 0.5) compared to Sham lambs (mean = 0.05 ± 0.4, P = 0.0001). There was an effect of sex on the display of acute pain-related behaviours in lambs that were tail docked (P < 0.001), with female lambs displaying more acute behaviours (mean count = +2.2). This difference in behaviour between sexes was not observed in Sham lambs. There was no effect of sex on display of postures related to pain (P = 0.99). During the Novelty and Startle phase of the emotional reactivity test, Ring lambs tended to (P = 0.084) or did (P = 0.018) show more fear related behaviours, respectively. However, no effect of sex was observed. The results of this study indicate that a pain state may alter the emotional response of lambs to novel objects and potential fearful situations. It was also demonstrated that female lambs display increased sensitivity to the acute pain caused by tail docking compared to males.

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The Neuroimmune Interface and Chronic Pain Through the Lens of Production Animals

Cited by 2 publications

References 149 publications

How Well Does Australian Animal Welfare Policy Reflect Scientific Evidence: A Case Study Approach Based on Lamb Marking

How Well Does Australian Animal Welfare Policy Reflect Scientific Evidence: A Case Study Approach Based on Lamb Marking

Sex impacts pain behaviour but not emotional reactivity of lambs following ring tail docking

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