Analgesia in rabbits: Optimising pain management in practice - little patients still have big ouchies!

The 2006 Animal Welfare Act (England and Wales) and the 2006 Animal Welfare puts into law the requirement for animals to be protected from unnecessary pain such is the recognition of how much pain negatively impacts welfare. Rabbits are the third most popular mammalian pet and yet are significantly under analgised in practice even when they have had surgery performed that is considered painful in other species or suffer from a condition that is considered painful in other species. Rabbits have evolved to essentially lie to us, hiding pain as an evolutionary adaptation to avoid predation. By the time a rabbit overtly shows pain, the pain is so severe it has overwhelmed the rabbits’ ability to hide it. This session aims to raise awareness and empower veterinary professionals to actively look for pain in rabbits and know how to confidently approach multimodal analgesia in this popular pet.