The Department of Agriculture, in conjunction with the Australian Veterinary Association Annual Conference, hosted an Animal Welfare Science Summit on Pain and Pain Management on 18 May 2007 in Melbourne.
Speakers at the AAWS Science Summit on Pain and Pain Management examined national and international developments in scientific research and community attitudes towards animal welfare and pain management. The different perspectives presented on this complex topic proved useful in promoting an improved understanding of animal welfare to a broad audience.
The seminar aimed to provide insight into current and future approaches to pain management, and provide some direction for future research. Current thinking dictates that animal welfare standards should be science based, but this assumes that there is sufficient research in a given area to provide us with useful answers. The importance of observation and experience was also demonstrated in a presentation on practical pain management in private practice.
The AAWS Science Summit on Pain and Pain Management provided a forum for the dissemination of information on key animal pain and pain management issues to a wide audience. The AAWS Science Summit panel discussion on 'Pain Management - where to from here', encouraged audience participation and provoked lively and constructive debate.
Below are the proceedings of the AAWS Science Summit, based on the presentations given by the Summit speakers.
Proceedings
The Role of Social Science and the Community’s Perception of Pain in Animals
Speaker: Prof Grahame Coleman, Monash University
Pain Management – An International Perspective
Speaker: Dr Judy MacArthur Clark, former Chair, Farm Animal Welfare Committee, United Kingdom
How Does Pain Rank as an Animal Welfare Issue?
Speaker: Prof Clive Phillips, Centre for Animal Welfare and Ethics
How Pain Affects Animals
Speaker: Dr Kersti Seksel, Australian Veterinary Association
New Approaches to Identifying and Measuring Pain
Speaker: Prof Craig Johnson, Massey University, New Zealand
Practical Pain Management in Animals
Speaker: Dr Martin Pearson, South Tamworth Animal Hospital
Avoiding and Alleviating Pain in Research Animals
Speaker: Dr Steve Atkinson, NSW Animal Welfare Advisory Committee
New Research on Pain Alleviating Methods for Farm Animals
Speaker: Dr Andrew Fisher, CSIRO Livestock Industries
Cost/Benefit Analysis of Pain Relief for Farm Animals
Speaker: Prof David Mellor, Massey University, New Zealand
