Effectiveness of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and epidural anaesthesia in reducing the pain and stress responses to a surgical husbandry procedure (mulesing) in sheep
D. R. Paull A , I. G. Colditz A , C. Lee A , S. J. Atkinson A and A. D. Fisher A BA CSIRO Livestock Industries, FD McMaster Laboratory Chiswick, Locked Bag 1, Armidale, NSW 2350, Australia.
B Corresponding author. Email: Andrew.Fisher@csiro.au
Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 48(7) 1034-1039 https://doi.org/10.1071/EA08050
Submitted: 22 January 2008 Accepted: 30 March 2008 Published: 20 June 2008
Abstract
In this study, we examined the potential of several widely used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and other analgesics to reduce pain and stress in sheep after surgery. Because mulesing involves a greater degree of tissue trauma than other surgical husbandry procedures such as castration or tail-docking, it provides a more rigorous and conservative test to identify potentially useful analgesic strategies in sheep. Merino lambs (5 weeks of age) were randomised into eight treatment groups: (1) carprofen; (2) flunixin; (3) ketoprofen; (4) buprenorphine; (5) xylazine; (6) lignocaine epidural; (7) saline control; (8) sham control. The NSAIDs were administered 1.5 h before mulesing, buprenorphine 0.75 h and xylazine and lignocaine 0.25 h before mulesing. Pain- and discomfort-related behaviours were recorded for 12 h after mulesing, and plasma cortisol concentrations were measured before mulesing and 0.5, 6, 12, 24 and 48 h after mulesing. The results indicated that no single analgesic treatment provided satisfactory analgesia during both the surgical mulesing procedure and the ensuing period of pain associated with the inflammatory phase. However, there were indications that two NSAIDs (carprofen and flunixin) showed good potential as analgesics during the inflammatory phase. A combination of short- and long-acting analgesics may be needed to provide more complete pain relief. In conclusion, the administration of some NSAIDs offers the potential for good analgesia in sheep for the inflammatory phase following the tissue trauma of surgical husbandry procedures. Other analgesic options need to be considered if the acute stress response to the procedure is to be reduced.
Acknowledgements
We thank Matt Reed and Sue Belson for their assistance in the conduct of the study. Funding for this research was supported by Australian woolgrowers and the Australian Government through Australian Wool Innovation Ltd.
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