Objective: Freedom from pain is among the most important aspects of animal welfare. The main obstacle for pain management in farm animals is an inability of personnel to recognise, quantify and evaluate the pain status of each individual. No information has been reported in developing countries where attitudes towards and practices in pain management might be lagging behind those in developed countries. Hence, the aim of this study was to evaluate the attitudes of farmers and veterinarians towards pain in farm animals in Kazakhstan Materials & Methods: A total of 3010 Kazakhstani veterinarians and farmers (members of veterinary and farmer organizations) were contacted by electronic and regular post during the summer of 2014. Using the two forms of contact was necessary in order to reach areas without internet coverage. Results & Conclusion: 2005 (66.6%) surveys were returned and analysed. Use of analgesic agents for the conditions and procedures considered in the survey was widespread, but use of opioids was not recorded. Only a few veterinarians (8.9%) and a negligible proportion of farmers (0.6%) evaluated themselves as knowing enough about pain. This research also highlights potential barriers to the increased use of pain relief for farm animals, identifying lack of up-to-date knowledge, poor communication between farmers and veterinarians and the fact that many respondents gave low scores for painful conditions, indicating a poor awareness of pain in farm animals. Understanding the attitudes of farmers and veterinarians to pain and pain management could help target future education, training and research strategies in this area. More actions to increase the level of knowledge about pain in veterinary students, licensed veterinarians and farmers should be undertaken in this country.
ANALGESIC USE IN FARM ANIMALS BY KAZAKHSTANI VETERINARIANS AND FARMERS
GIORGI, MARIO;
2016-01-01
Abstract
Objective: Freedom from pain is among the most important aspects of animal welfare. The main obstacle for pain management in farm animals is an inability of personnel to recognise, quantify and evaluate the pain status of each individual. No information has been reported in developing countries where attitudes towards and practices in pain management might be lagging behind those in developed countries. Hence, the aim of this study was to evaluate the attitudes of farmers and veterinarians towards pain in farm animals in Kazakhstan Materials & Methods: A total of 3010 Kazakhstani veterinarians and farmers (members of veterinary and farmer organizations) were contacted by electronic and regular post during the summer of 2014. Using the two forms of contact was necessary in order to reach areas without internet coverage. Results & Conclusion: 2005 (66.6%) surveys were returned and analysed. Use of analgesic agents for the conditions and procedures considered in the survey was widespread, but use of opioids was not recorded. Only a few veterinarians (8.9%) and a negligible proportion of farmers (0.6%) evaluated themselves as knowing enough about pain. This research also highlights potential barriers to the increased use of pain relief for farm animals, identifying lack of up-to-date knowledge, poor communication between farmers and veterinarians and the fact that many respondents gave low scores for painful conditions, indicating a poor awareness of pain in farm animals. Understanding the attitudes of farmers and veterinarians to pain and pain management could help target future education, training and research strategies in this area. More actions to increase the level of knowledge about pain in veterinary students, licensed veterinarians and farmers should be undertaken in this country.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
