task_id stringlengths 15 42 | sampling_strategy stringclasses 3
values | target_subject_species stringlengths 3 58 | context_metadata stringlengths 43 233 | visual_cues stringlengths 66 417 | referenced_manuals listlengths 1 3 | extracted_medical_rules listlengths 1 5 | adversarial_distractor stringlengths 63 460 | indicator_class stringlengths 6 53 | target_category stringclasses 8
values | sota_judge_summary stringlengths 153 492 | source_citations listlengths 1 6 | species_class stringclasses 20
values | split stringclasses 1
value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
farm_t1_bird_001 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Domestic Pigeon (Columba livia) | Clinical evaluation 24 hours post-tibiotarsal fracture. A human veterinary observer has entered the room to visually score the bird. | The pigeon appears highly alert and actively tries to escape the enclosure (subjective attitude score of 0). However, objective floor plate measurements show a weight-bearing load differential (DBW) approaching 100%, with the bird placing zero weight on the injured limb. | [
"Comprehensive Manual for Avian & Poultry Pain and Stress Assessment"
] | [
"Prey species instinctively mask signs of pain and vulnerability when observed.",
"Subjective attitude pain scales in pigeons can lack specificity due to stress and visual stimulation from human presence.",
"Weight-bearing load differential is a sensitive and specific indirect measure of orthopedic pain."
] | The pigeon appears completely alert and actively tries to escape, classically indicating a baseline or unimpaired physical state. | Behavioral / Postural | Negative_Nociceptive | Due to the 'observer effect' inherent in prey species, the pigeon attempts to mask its vulnerability by acting alert when the veterinarian is present, invalidating the subjective attitude score. The objective weight-bearing load differential indicates profound nociceptive pain in the fractured limb. | [
"[@paul-murphy-2015; q='As prey species, birds are adept at hiding pain']",
"[@desmarchelier-2012; q='pain scale for the pigeons’ attitude in the presence of the observer was not specific was most likely attributable to the stress and visual stimulation']",
"[@desmarchelier-2012; q='Weight-bearing load differen... | Bird | Train |
farm_t1_bird_002 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Companion Parrot | A pet parrot recently relocated to a high-traffic, noisy environment. Housed with a long-term cagemate. | The parrot is engaging in constant, repetitive, and excessive over-preening of its cagemate's feathers. | [
"Comprehensive Manual for Avian & Poultry Pain and Stress Assessment"
] | [
"While decreased grooming is a standard pain indicator, increased self-grooming or overgrooming of cagemates acts as a paradoxical displacement behavior in response to stress or pain."
] | Decreased self-grooming and isolation from conspecifics are the primary recognized signs of the 'sick bird syndrome'. | Behavioral / Grooming | Negative_Affective | Although generalized distress often results in decreased plumage maintenance, this parrot is demonstrating paradoxical grooming. The excessive over-preening of a cagemate is a recognized displacement behavior indicating elevated psychological stress from the recent environmental disturbance. | [
"[@paul-murphy-2015; q='increased self-grooming or overgrooming of cagemates has also been reported when birds are stressed or in pain.']"
] | Bird | Train |
farm_t1_bird_003 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Broiler Breeder Chicken | Commercial flock housed under a strict, restricted feeding schedule to manage commercial growth rates. Evaluated 10 minutes prior to the automated feed drop. | The birds display conspicuous excitement, engaging in increased movement speed and high-frequency vocalizations directed toward the feeding troughs. | [
"Comprehensive Manual for Avian & Poultry Pain and Stress Assessment"
] | [
"Conspicuous pre-meal excitement in birds on a restricted feeding schedule is often a sign of frustration and chronic hunger, rather than positive anticipation."
] | Increased movement speed and vocalization frequency immediately prior to a known reward typically indicate a positive affective state and joy. | Behavioral / Contextual | Negative_Affective | Context is critical for welfare evaluation. While anticipatory excitement generally signals positive welfare, a restricted feeding environment alters this interpretation. The frantic activity before meals in this specific scenario reflects severe frustration and chronic hunger. | [
"[@neethirajan-2025; q='broiler breeders on restricted feeding schedules often show conspicuous excitement just before meals—an observation that might appear to represent positive anticipation but could also signal frustration born of chronic hunger.']"
] | Bird | Train |
farm_t1_bird_004 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Laying Hen | Evaluated continuously via an unobtrusive deep-learning computer vision system attached to the aviary ceiling. | The isolated hen presents with a downward tail position, hunched posture with bent legs, dropped wings, and a tucked head. A Grad-CAM heatmap generated by the CNN highlights intense focal points over the tail and legs. | [
"Comprehensive Manual for Avian & Poultry Pain and Stress Assessment"
] | [
"The Stressed Chicken Scale classifies a bird as stressed if it presents 4 or more negative body signals.",
"Deep learning AI models assess avian distress by specifically looking at the caudal anatomy (tail, wings, legs) rather than the face."
] | Human observers look for distress primarily by zeroing in on localized facial signals like eye closures or beak opening. | Postural / AI Geometric | Negative_Nociceptive | The hen demonstrates 4 distinct signals (tail droop, hunched legs, wing droop, tucked head), meaning it reliably meets the diagnostic threshold of the Stressed Chicken Scale. The AI correctly flags the stress, analyzing the bird via the geometric deformation of the caudal body, validating the posture-driven evaluation. | [
"[@schlegel-2024; q='7 body signals: Tail and head position, eye closure, beak opening, leg and wing position, and plumage fullness']",
"[@schlegel-pape-2026; q='the AI “looks” at the chicken’s caudal body, especially the tail, the legs and the wings']"
] | Bird | Train |
farm_t1_bird_006 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Broiler Chicken (Poultry) | Monitored via an overhead 2D computer vision system in a grow-out shed to evaluate posture. | The bird's geometric bounding box reveals a high circular profile with high convexity, decreased elongation, and a walk speed stalling below 0.11 m/s. | [
"Comprehensive Manual for Avian & Poultry Pain and Stress Assessment"
] | [
"Sick or painful broilers undergo geometric deformations, appearing more circular and convex due to a tucked-in, hunched posture."
] | Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) evaluate chicken stress primarily by analyzing facial features like eye closure and beak parameters. | Geometric / Postural | Negative_Nociceptive | When assessed from a 2D overhead camera, negative nociceptive states (illness or pain) are diagnosed via measurable postural deformations. The bird compresses its body, leading to increased circularity and convexity, while healthy birds exhibit an elongated profile. Unlike human observers who look at the face, AI prope... | [
"[@okinda-2019; q=\"sick broiler appeared more circular and more convex compared to a healthy broiler\"]",
"[@schlegel-pape-2026; q=\"the AI “looks” at the chicken’s caudal body, especially the tail, the legs and the wings\"]"
] | Bird | Train |
farm_t1_bird_007 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Domestic Pigeon (Columba livia) | Clinical evaluation for a suspected limb fracture. The veterinarian is standing directly in front of the clear recovery enclosure. | The pigeon displays an alert attitude, frequently attempts to escape, and bears equal weight on both limbs. | [
"Comprehensive Manual for Avian & Poultry Pain and Stress Assessment"
] | [
"As prey species, birds instinctively mask signs of pain.",
"The direct presence of a human observer induces visual stimulation and acute stress, causing the bird to hide its pain and rendering subjective postural attitudes non-specific."
] | Weight-bearing load differential is a sensitive and specific indirect measure of orthopedic pain in pigeons. | Behavioral / Postural | False_Negative_Masking | The bird's failure to display a weight-bearing load differential or postural guarding is a False Negative caused by the 'Observer Effect'. Because pigeons are prey animals, the direct presence of the veterinarian triggers instinctual masking of vulnerability and pain via 'conservation withdrawal', appearing alert despi... | [
"[@paul-murphy-2015; q=\"As prey species, birds are adept at hiding pain\"]",
"[@desmarchelier-2012; q=\"pain scale for the pigeons’ attitude in the presence of the observer was not specific was most likely attributable to the stress and visual stimulation\"]"
] | Bird | Train |
farm_t1_cat_001 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Feline | A domestic cat recovering from abdominal surgery in a veterinary cage. The cat is fully awake and undisturbed. A veterinarian and an AI chatbot are both analyzing a 2D photograph of the cat to determine if rescue analgesia is needed. | Head held below the shoulder line, orbital tightening (squinting), stiff whiskers moving rostrally away from the face, and a flattened, elliptical muzzle. | [
"Feline Facial Expressions & Visual Well-Being Signals"
] | [
"Whiskers standing on end or moving forward are caused by the action of the nasolabial levator muscle during pain.",
"Generative AI language models systematically show a positive bias in Bland-Altman terms, meaning they under-report feline pain and struggle with 2D interpretations of muzzle/whisker tension."
] | Standard LLMs have high general object recognition capabilities, which may incorrectly trick a user into trusting their 'no pain' zero-shot assessment of the image. | Facial | Negative_Nociceptive | The cat presents with classic nociceptive pain signs, requiring manual FGS scoring because chatbots are known to underestimate feline acute pain from 2D images. Analgesia is validated for scores >0.39. | [
"[@mota-rojas-2025; q='cats and mice in pain show whisker changes due to the contraction of the nasolabial levator muscle (levator nasolabialis)']",
"[@ngai-2025; q='All chatbots exhibited a positive bias, indicating pain could have been underestimated using the FGS scores.']"
] | Cat | Train |
farm_t1_cat_002 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Feline (Persian) | A healthy, pain-free brachycephalic Persian cat relaxing at home, awaiting a meal. An automated camera in the home captures standard facial metrics. | Round-shaped skull, distinctly flattened/broad muzzle, and altered standard facial width. Ears are facing forward and eyes are open, but the muzzle appears tense or altered compared to a non-brachycephalic cat. | [
"Feline Facial Expressions & Visual Well-Being Signals"
] | [
"Brachycephalic cats have natural anatomical anomalies (round skulls and decreased facial width) that disrupt standard FGS baseline interpretations, creating false positive pain risks.",
"Assessing the cat in a home environment is excellent for avoiding masking, but doesn't resolve morphological abnormalities."
] | Because muzzle tension is a key indicator of the FGS, any bulging or elliptical shape typically flags as an automatic score of 1 or 2, indicating possible pain. | Morphological | False_Positive_Morphological | The morphological features typical of brachycephalic cats intrinsically distort the baseline for muzzle tension. A high score here is a morphological false positive, as the breed's skull shape confuses the standard FGS criteria. | [
"[@evangelista-2019; q='Morphological differences (round-shaped skulls and decrease in facial width) related to breed-specific features have been previously observed in brachycephalic cats']"
] | Cat | Train |
farm_t1_cat_003 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Feline | A healthy cat recovering in a clinic strictly from a non-painful diagnostic imaging procedure, currently under sedation hangover. | Relaxed and drooped facial muscle tone causing eyelids to be partially closed (simulating orbital tightening) and ears to appear flattened or rotated outward. | [
"Feline Facial Expressions & Visual Well-Being Signals"
] | [
"Certain anesthetic drugs alter muscle tone and mimic facial grimacing, synthetically inflating grimace scores in pain-free animals."
] | Orbital tightening and ear down-rotation are the two most reliable AUs (highest ICC) for diagnosing true nociceptive pain in awake cats. | Physiological | False_Positive_Physiological | The cat is heavily sedated, which naturally relaxes facial musculature. This artificial relaxation mimics the grimacing FGS action units (ear position and eye squinting), necessitating humans and AIs to disregard FGS scoring until the animal is fully awake. | [
"[@mota-rojas-2025; q='sedation increases the FGS scores. This was shown in healthy cats anesthetized with dexmedetomidine-butorphanol and propofol-isoflurane']",
"[@evangelista-2021; q='muzzle (ICC single = 0.39']"
] | Cat | Train |
farm_t1_cat_004 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Feline (Feral) | A feral cat brought into a busy veterinary clinic for a known leg injury. The cat is being actively observed by unfamiliar clinic staff at close range. | The cat is freezing. Eyes are fixed, abnormally wide, and round. Ears are pinned flat. Muzzle is tense, and there is an overriding presentation of fear and withdrawal rather than standard resting grimace. | [
"Feline Facial Expressions & Visual Well-Being Signals"
] | [
"Excessively shy or feral cats express altered demeanour around observers, heavily masking specific nociceptive signals and replacing them with hyper-vigilance or freezing."
] | Fully wide or round eyes normally result in an FGS score of 0 for orbital tightening, wrongly implying the cat is completely comfortable. | Contextual / Behavioral | False_Negative_Masking | The extreme fear state of a trapped feral cat triggers an overriding survival mechanism (prey masking and observer effect), where normal pain grimacing is suppressed for hyper-vigilance. Automated systems and humans should treat these FGS scores as unreliable due to behavioural influence. | [
"[@evangelista-2019; q='To reduce the bias, excessively shy and feral cats were excluded, knowing that demeanour influences the scores of feline-specific pain scales']",
"[@rojsiripornchai-2025; q='several items in the scale, such as hiding, decreased social interaction, and increased aggression, may also indirec... | Cat | Train |
farm_t1_cat_005 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Feline | Post-operative recovery cage, cat is awake and undisturbed but highly immobile. | Ears are flattened and rotated outwards, eyes are squinting with vertical height less than 50% of width. Whiskers appear stiff and are moving rostrally. The muzzle is visually tense, stretched into an elliptical shape. | [
"Feline Facial Expressions & Visual Well-Being Signals: A Manual for Automated Affective State Assessment"
] | [
"Contraction of the levator nasolabialis muscle causes whisker position changes and forward spiking in feline pain. [@mota-rojas-2025; q=\"cats and mice in pain show whisker changes due to the contraction of the nasolabial levator muscle (levator nasolabialis)\"]",
"A Feline Grimace Scale (FGS) score exceeding th... | Behavioral signs like hiding and aggression overlap heavily with pain, indirectly reflecting emotional distress. [@rojsiripornchai-2025; q="several items in the scale, such as hiding, decreased social interaction, and increased aggression, may also indirectly reflect the emotional distress associated with pain."] | Facial | Negative_Nociceptive | The combined presentation of orbital tightening, flattened ears, muzzle tension, and strong rostral whisker spiking points definitively to acute nociceptive pain rather than mere fear or stress. The subject likely exceeds the 0.39 FGS cut-off and requires immediate rescue analgesia. | [
"[@mota-rojas-2025; q=\"cats and mice in pain show whisker changes due to the contraction of the nasolabial levator muscle (levator nasolabialis)\"]",
"[@evangelista-2019; q=\"The cut-off score of 0.39 (from a maximum of 1.0) was selected\"]",
"[@rojsiripornchai-2025; q=\"several items in the scale, such as hid... | Cat | Train |
farm_t1_cat_007 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Feline | A 14-week-old kitten assessed after receiving a minor injury. An owner takes a 2D photograph and uploads it to an LLM chatbot for pain evaluation. | The kitten exhibits flattened ears, a rounded skull, narrow eyes with a height significantly less than width, and a head held below the shoulder line. | [
"Feline Facial Expressions & Visual Well-Being Signals: A Manual for Automated Affective State Assessment"
] | [
"The FGS is fully validated for evaluating pain in young feline patients via photography. [@cheng-2023; q=\"validation of the FGS in kittens is reported by evaluating its construct validity, responsiveness and reliability using image assessment.\"]",
"Large language models systematically underestimate clinical ex... | Raters struggle assessing kittens compared to adults, particularly with muzzle tension in 2D photos due to a lack of depth perception. [@evangelista-2021; q="muzzle (ICC single = 0.39"] | Facial / Algorithmic Bias | Negative_Nociceptive | While the kitten is exhibiting clear signs of nociceptive pain that are fully valid under the kitten-adapted FGS, relying on a zero-shot LLM to score this 2D image introduces a severe safety risk. Chatbots systematically underestimate FGS scores due to positive bias and safety alignment flaws, likely recommending under... | [
"[@cheng-2023; q=\"validation of the FGS in kittens is reported by evaluating its construct validity, responsiveness and reliability using image assessment.\"]",
"[@ngai-2025; q=\"All chatbots exhibited a positive bias, indicating pain could have been underestimated using the FGS scores.\"]",
"[@evangelista-202... | Cat | Train |
farm_t1_cat_008 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Feline | A recently trapped feral cat in a busy, loud veterinary clinic triage area. | The cat is fully frozen at the back of the clinical carrier with wide, dilated pupils. No whisker spiking or muzzle tension is visible, but the cat is highly stiff, hiding its limbs, and avoiding interaction. | [
"Feline Facial Expressions & Visual Well-Being Signals: A Manual for Automated Affective State Assessment"
] | [
"Feral status and extreme shyness heavily influence pain presentations and can skew visual pain scale results. [@evangelista-2019; q=\"To reduce the bias, excessively shy and feral cats were excluded, knowing that demeanour influences the scores of feline-specific pain scales\"]"
] | Standard behavioral markers for nociceptive pain in felines include hiding and limb tucking. [@rojsiripornchai-2025; q="The six Likert-scale items evaluated signs such as: (1) hiding or decreased interest in play or social interaction; (2) poor coat condition or reduced grooming; (3) narrowed and dull eyes; (4) hunched... | Behavioral / Contextual Confounder | False_Negative_Masking | The feral cat's freezing behavior and dilated pupils in a high-stress hospital environment initiate a prey masking (fear) response. This extreme stress suppresses or completely masks classic nociceptive FGS cues, creating a false negative for facial pain evaluation despite potential underlying trauma. | [
"[@evangelista-2019; q=\"To reduce the bias, excessively shy and feral cats were excluded, knowing that demeanour influences the scores of feline-specific pain scales\"]",
"[@rojsiripornchai-2025; q=\"The six Likert-scale items evaluated signs such as: (1) hiding or decreased interest in play or social interactio... | Cat | Train |
farm_t1_cattle_001 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Cattle | Post-procedure monitoring in the pen. A human approaches and evaluates the cow intermittently, appearing normal. Continuous 5-frame LSTM video analysis is subsequently reviewed. | Under observation, the cow shows normal attention. During video analysis when the human is absent, brief 0.5-second micro-expressions are tracked showing eyelids in contact with each other and ears held straight backward. | [
"Comprehensive Manual for Pain Recognition in Cattle and Calves"
] | [
"Cattle mask pain behaviors in the presence of observers due to evolutionary predator-avoidance adaptations.",
"Facial expressions of pain in livestock are very brief, often lasting only 0.3 to 0.7 seconds.",
"Eyes closed with eyelids in contact signifies obvious orbital tightening due to pain."
] | Environmental factors including ambient temperature, humidity, and airflow significantly impact thermal measurement reliability. | Facial / Temporal | False_Negative_Masking | The cow is actively experiencing pain but exhibiting prey-animal stoicism, masking pain FAUs when the human observer approaches. Remote video monitoring captures brief micro-expressions of orbital tightening and backward ear position, confirming the underlying subjective pain state that periodic manual evaluation misse... | [
"[@patel-2025; q=\"Cattle’s evolutionary inclination to mask pain, derived from predator-avoidance behaviors, severely complicates clinical assessments\"]",
"[@patel-2025; q=\"pain-related facial expressions in livestock often last between 0.3 and 0.7 seconds, rendering periodic manual observations insufficiently... | Cattle | Train |
farm_t1_cattle_002 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Calf (Angus Beef) | Physical restraint in a tilt-table prior to castration. The animal is secured but has not yet undergone painful stimulus. | Tension above the eye causes furrow lines. The ears are directed forward, actively moving. The nostrils are relaxed and cashew-shaped. The jawline and chin are obscured by a thick dewlap. | [
"Comprehensive Manual for Pain Recognition in Cattle and Calves"
] | [
"The 'tension above the eye' facial action unit can be triggered moderately by less aversive, non-painful environmental stressors like restraint.",
"The pronounced chin FAU cannot be reliably scored in beef calves due to phenotypic masking by the dewlap."
] | Upper and lower jaws not in contact with the tongue appearing is highly indicative of acute pain or vocalization. | Facial | Negative_Affective | Despite visible muscle tension and furrow lines above the eyes, the absence of rigid ear positioning and nostril dilation indicates the calf is experiencing stress from restraint rather than acute pain. The obscuration of the chin is anatomically normal for this breed and does not signify an FAU. | [
"[@farghal-2024; q=\"suggesting the moderate presence of this FAU during less aversive conditions rather than pain\"]",
"[@farghal-2024; q=\"Pronounced chin was excluded as it was not possible to score due to the presence of the dewlap\"]",
"[@gleerup-2017; q=\"Tension of the muscles above the eyes may be seen ... | Cattle | Train |
farm_t1_cattle_003 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Dairy Cow | Post-milking lameness checkpoint. The observer scores the animal from a distance and upon approach using a structured multi-parameter assessment scale. | The cow holds its head very low below the withers, has an arched back, and keeps its ears straight backwards. When the observer approaches, it leaves slowly and shows avoidance. | [
"Comprehensive Manual for Pain Recognition in Cattle and Calves"
] | [
"The Cow Pain Scale utilizes an aggregate of 7 behavioral and postural indicators evaluated from 0 to 2.",
"A composite score above a threshold of 5 indicates the likelihood of experiencing pain requiring intervention.",
"Cows in pain posture with arched backs, lowered heads, and ears pointing backward."
] | Other affective states such as fear or malaise also need to be assessed, as a lowered head might simply denote exhaustion or metabolic illness rather than nociceptive pain. | Behavioral / Postural | Negative_Nociceptive | The patient exhibits multiple concurrent indicators conforming to the Cow Pain Scale (CPS). The combination of a lowered head, arched back, avoidance upon approach, and backward-directed ears cumulatively surpasses the intervention threshold of 5, clearly distinguishing this case as nociceptive pain rather than singula... | [
"[@gleerup-2017; q=\"The cow pain scale consists of 7 behaviours, evaluated from 0-2\"]",
"[@gleerup-2017; q=\"if the pain score is above 5, the cow could be in pain\"]",
"[@gleerup-2017; q=\"cows in pain keep their ears straight backwards or very low\"]"
] | Cattle | Train |
farm_t1_cattle_004 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Angus Bull | Automated pipeline validation assessing footage of a black Angus herd. Human veterinarians submit BGS scores while an AI video model performs a simultaneous assessment. | The AI systematically detects nostrils that are obviously open and nearly circular, and identifies visual grooves on black-furred cheeks indicative of extreme muscle strain. Human veterinarians report highly variable scores for the exact same clips. | [
"Comprehensive Manual for Pain Recognition in Cattle and Calves"
] | [
"Human evaluators achieve only moderate reliability when scoring the Bovine Grimace Scale (BGS) visually in standard conditions.",
"Deep learning computer vision machines significantly outperform human veterinary experts at scoring facial pain scales like BGS.",
"Nostrils that are obviously open and appear circ... | Human experts analyzing whole-body behavioral systems like the UCAPS actually maintain very good inter-observer reliability. | Automated Facial Assessment | Negative_Nociceptive | Dark fur colors like black in Angus bulls can visually mask delicate facial Action Units like cheek strain or furrow lines from human observers, resulting in moderate inter-observer reliability. The automated AI overcomes these limitations, accurately detecting the nearly circular nostrils and strained chewing muscles,... | [
"[@feighelstein-2025; q=\"Observers reached moderate inter-observer reliability for BGS scoring\"]",
"[@feighelstein-2025; q=\"the machine significantly outperforms veterinarian using both BGS\"]",
"[@farghal-2024; q=\"nostrils orifices are obviously open and appear nearly circular\"]",
"[@feighelstein-2025; ... | Cattle | Train |
farm_t1_cattle_005 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Angus Beef Calf | Post-castration monitoring in a holding pen, observed remotely via a hovering drone to prevent observer-induced stress. | Upper and lower jaws are not touching, tongue is intermittently visible. The eyelids are firmly touching each other hiding the eyeball, and both ears are pressed caudally backward. | [
"Comprehensive Manual for Pain Recognition in Cattle and Calves"
] | [
"Mouth opening is characterized by jaws not touching and potential appearance of the tongue, frequently exhibited by calves in acute pain.",
"Obvious orbital tightening involves the eyelids contacting and hiding the entire eyeball.",
"Drones are used to observe natural facial expressions by avoiding the disrupt... | The pronounced chin FAU was actively excluded from the scoring assessment because the natural presence of a dewlap in beef calves visually obscures the jawline, eliminating it as a reliable indicator. | Facial / Behavioral | Negative_Nociceptive | The calf demonstrates absolute indicators of acute distress characteristic of the Calf Grimace Scale (CGS): mouth opening (reflecting vocalization or grimacing), severe orbital tightening, and backward-directed ears. The remote drone monitoring effectively mitigates stoicism. The missing 'pronounced chin' relies on bre... | [
"[@farghal-2024; q=\"upper and lower jaws are not in contact with each other, the tongue may appear\"]",
"[@farghal-2024; q=\"mouth opening presented a change in 40, 15, and 10% of calves\"]",
"[@farghal-2024; q=\"Eyes obviously closed: eyelids are in contact with each other\"]",
"[@farghal-2024; q=\"habituat... | Cattle | Train |
farm_t1_cattle_006 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Adult Dairy Cow | Periodic manual evaluation by a veterinarian completing rounds in a tie-stall barn. | When evaluated dynamically over video, occasional 0.5-second flashes of 'lamb's ears' and heavy furrow lines above the eyes are noted. However, the cow's face appears perfectly relaxed and neutral the moment the veterinarian makes direct eye contact and approaches. | [
"Comprehensive Manual for Pain Recognition in Cattle and Calves"
] | [
"Cattle exhibit evolutionary stoicism to mask pain from predators, highly perturbing physical clinical checks.",
"Facial expressions of pain in livestock manifest in very short temporal windows, often dropping well below a second.",
"Ear drooping (lamb's ears) and visible furrow lines from upper eye muscle tens... | Tension above the eye has frequently been scored during non-painful restraint, suggesting the moderate presence of this FAU during less aversive conditions rather than strictly pain. | Spatiotemporal / Prey Animal Stoicism | Negative_Nociceptive | This scenario highlights the vulnerability of manual, periodic observation. The cow suppresses her pain signs when approached by a perceived predator (the human). Because pain micro-expressions last less than a second, periodic manual checks yield false negatives. Long-term, automated spatiotemporal tracking is require... | [
"[@patel-2025; q=\"Cattle’s evolutionary inclination to mask pain, derived from predator-avoidance behaviors, severely complicates clinical assessments\"]",
"[@patel-2025; q=\"pain-related facial expressions in livestock often last between 0.3 and 0.7 seconds, rendering periodic manual observations insufficiently... | Cattle | Train |
farm_t1_cattle_008 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Adult Cow | On-farm clinical triage applying a rapid composite pain algorithm to evaluate potential intervention. | The cow is actively avoiding observation, moving away very slowly upon approach. She stands with a highly arched back, and her head is held significantly below the line of her withers. The composite distress tally evaluates to a score of 8. | [
"Comprehensive Manual for Pain Recognition in Cattle and Calves"
] | [
"The Cow Pain Scale utilizes 7 behavioral and postural markers rated between 0 and 2.",
"Achieving a scoring sum higher than 5 implies a positive threshold for actionable pain.",
"A combination of lowered head carriage, arched spine, and evasive approach-responses form the non-facial pillars of bovine pain eval... | It is essential to consider that other states such as fear or malaies from systemic illness can interact with and occasionally emulate expressions of acute pain, obscuring correct diagnoses. | Composite System / Behavioral | Negative_Nociceptive | The subject presents multiple definitive markers evaluated in the Cow Pain Scale. The alignment of an arched back, withdrawn avoidance behavior, and very low head posture yields an 8, clearing the intervention threshold of 5. While malaise can present with drooped demeanor, the pronounced spinal arching strongly distin... | [
"[@gleerup-2017; q=\"The cow pain scale consists of 7 behaviours, evaluated from 0-2\"]",
"[@gleerup-2017; q=\"if the pain score is above 5, the cow could be in pain\"]",
"[@mclennan-2019; q=\"other affective states such as fear or malaise also needs to be assessed, as these may interact with or obscure facial ... | Cattle | Train |
farm_t1_cuttlefish_001 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) | Husbandry tank during a feeding session. A handler has just introduced live shrimp into the water. | Extensive oscillation of the mantle fin, followed by the front two arms waving actively. Normal dynamic camouflage patterns are maintained. | [
"Cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) Visual Discomfort & Pain Assessment Manual"
] | [
"Fin oscillation and waving of the front two arms in the presence of live prey implies the animal is enriched and preparing to hunt or distract prey."
] | Front two arms waving can indicate an attempt to warn off a threat in the absence of food, potentially causing an automated system to flag false distress. | Behavioral / Postural | Negative_Affective | Context tracking is mandatory for correct classification. Although fin oscillation and arm waving denote agitation or threat responses in isolated contexts, their occurrence precisely during the introduction of live prey signifies normal, positive hunting enrichment rather than negative nociception. | [
"[@cooke-2015; q=\"Preparing to hunt prey/feed\"]",
"[@cooke-2015; q=\"Attempt to warn off threat\"]"
] | Cuttlefish | Train |
farm_t1_cuttlefish_002 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) | Small captive quarantine tank. Subject was recently startled by sudden movement outside the glass, causing aggressive backward jetting. | Small, punctate breaches are visible on the caudal region of the mantle. The subject also shows transient pallor and occasional inappropriate papillation. | [
"Cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) Visual Discomfort & Pain Assessment Manual"
] | [
"Collisions can lead to posterior mantle damage known as butt burn, which presents as punctate breaches.",
"Small punctate skin breaches combined with transient pallor and behavioral papillae display classify as a Score 1 monitoring condition."
] | The intense black and white 'Zebra Pattern' is a mature courtship behavior, but if present, it is an adversarial distractor that frequently leads to secondary injury through fights or collisions, rather than being a pain signal itself. | Physical integrity / Textural | Negative_Nociceptive | The physical presence of punctate breaches on the caudal region highlights the beginning of 'butt burn' typical from tank-wall collisions. The symptom severity (transient pallor, small breaches) indicates a Score 1 status, requiring an increase in observation frequency to ensure it does not progress to continuous lesio... | [
"[@cooke-2015; q=\"the most frequent ailment is perhaps a condition known as “butt burn” (or “bubble butt”), where an individual has damaged the posterior end of its mantle after a collision\"]",
"[@fiorito-2015; q=\"Small, punctate breaches on arms or mantle (often caudal regions-’butt burn’)\"]"
] | Cuttlefish | Train |
farm_t1_cuttlefish_003 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) | Solitary observation environment. The specimen is of advanced age with heavily documented declines in feeding drive. | The animal is resting motionless on the bottom. It presents a completely white (blanche) coloration with drooped arms. Feeding tentacles remain un-retracted despite no food presence, and the pupils show no reaction to ambient light changes. | [
"Cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) Visual Discomfort & Pain Assessment Manual"
] | [
"An all-white (blanche) appearance indicates sickness, severe distress, or prolonged senescence.",
"Drooping arms are typically seen with a blanche coloration just prior to death after prolonged senescence.",
"Fixed unresponsive pupils denote severe neurological distress.",
"Un-retracted tentacles are an abno... | The subject occasionally exhibits a small release of ink (pseudomorph), which typically acts as a simple alarm distractor rather than the full tank black-out seen in acute severe trauma. | Postural / Chromatic / Eye | Negative_Nociceptive | The combination of multiple critical distress factors—specifically the un-retracted tentacles, completely blanche appearance, and fixed unresponsive pupils—unequivocally identifies severe, end-of-life neurological failure. This meets the criteria for Score 3 requiring immediate euthanasia. | [
"[@cooke-2015; q=\"All white in appearance. Seen in subordinate and sick individuals, also first stage of senescence\"]",
"[@cooke-2015; q=\"Typically seen with “Blanche” colour. Often seen after agonistic interaction by loser. Often seen just before death after prolonged senescence\"]",
"[@fiorito-2015; q=\"fi... | Cuttlefish | Train |
farm_t1_cuttlefish_004 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) | Long-term display tank where previous food competition resulted in chronic starvation for this subordinate individual. | The subject is staying entirely at the water's surface without moving and is unable to correct its buoyancy to reach the bottom. Clear morphological mantle deformation is visible along the dorsal ridge. | [
"Cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) Visual Discomfort & Pain Assessment Manual"
] | [
"An inability to reach the bottom and passive resting at the water surface identifies the 'floater' condition.",
"Mantle deformation signifies severe internal trauma in the form of a damaged cuttlebone."
] | A rough skin texture (inappropriate papillation) is visible, which functions as a threat signal and distractor, but is superseded by the life-threatening locomotor buoyancy failure. | Locomotor / Physical integrity | Negative_Nociceptive | Buoyancy failure (the 'floater' condition) combined directly with structural mantle deformation confirms critical skeletal damage to the cuttlebone, likely exacerbated by starvation. This is a severe trauma and falls definitively under Score 3, requiring acute intervention or euthanasia. | [
"[@otjacques-2020; q=\"cuttlefish was considered as “floater” if it was staying at the surface of the water without moving or unable to reach and remain at the bottom\"]",
"[@fiorito-2015; q=\"Mantle deformation in cuttlefish indicative of damaged cuttle bone\"]"
] | Cuttlefish | Train |
farm_t1_cuttlefish_005 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) | Animal observed in a captive tank following recent erratic backward jetting against tank walls. | Uncoordinated color changes between the arms and mantle, small punctate breaches on the caudal region of the mantle, and attempting to reach the dorsal mantle with an arm. | [
"Cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) Visual Discomfort & Pain Assessment Manual"
] | [
"Uncoordinated coloration or static pallid areas is a red flag indicating distress.",
"Erratic backward jetting causes collisions, leading to mantle end damage known as butt burn, which presents as small breaches on the caudal regions.",
"Attempting to touch or guard the dorsal mantle with an arm is a sign of l... | Intense dark bands around each eye act as a bluff or threat signal. | Chromatic / Behavioral | Negative_Nociceptive | The combination of uncoordinated coloration, visible caudal lesions ('butt burn'), and wound-directed arm behavior confirms localized tissue pain and moderate distress, necessitating veterinary intervention. | [
"[@fiorito-2015; q=\"uncoordinated colour changes between arms, head or mantle; some continuously pallid areas or areas with an unchanging colour or pattern\"]",
"[@cooke-2015; q=\"the most frequent ailment is perhaps a condition known as “butt burn” (or “bubble butt”), where an individual has damaged the posteri... | Cuttlefish | Train |
farm_t1_cuttlefish_006 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) | An older, long-term captive individual resting frequently at the bottom of the enclosure. | All white exterior appearance (Blanche), drooped arms, cloudy eyes, and a noticeable lack of interest in food. | [
"Cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) Visual Discomfort & Pain Assessment Manual"
] | [
"An all-white appearance signals sickness, subordinance, or the first stage of senescence.",
"Drooped arms frequently accompany the blanche coloration just before death from prolonged senescence.",
"Reduced appetite and cloudy corneas are possible signs of senescence, which can be hard to tell apart from diseas... | Fixed constricted or dilated pupils unresponsive to ambient light change indicates a severe neurological issue. | Chromatic / Postural / Visual | False_Positive_Physiological | The concurrent manifestation of the 'Blanche' state, drooped arms, cloudy eyes, and anorexia in an older individual strongly indicates late-stage senescence rather than singular acute disease, guided by record-keeping. | [
"[@cooke-2015; q=\"All white in appearance. Seen in subordinate and sick individuals, also first stage of senescence\"]",
"[@cooke-2015; q=\"Typically seen with “Blanche” colour. Often seen after agonistic interaction by loser. Often seen just before death after prolonged senescence\"]",
"[@fiorito-2015; q=\"Po... | Cuttlefish | Train |
farm_t1_cuttlefish_007 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) | Live prey was just introduced into the aquaria. No handlers or sudden lighting changes are present. | Oscillation of the mantle fin, middle pair of arms raised, and front two arms waving slowly. | [
"Cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) Visual Discomfort & Pain Assessment Manual"
] | [
"While fin oscillation can signal agitation in husbandry contexts, when live prey is present, it means the animal is preparing to hunt.",
"Waving of the front arms may be an attempt to warn off threats during stress, but acts as a positive distractor to prey when feeding."
] | Large amounts of ink that black out the tank are a sign of extreme welfare compromise. | Postural / Behavioral | Positive_Welfare | Because live prey is present, the fin oscillation and arm waving signify positive enrichment (preparing to hunt and distracting prey) rather than threat or welfare compromise. Context disambiguation is critical here. | [
"[@cooke-2015; q=\"Preparing to hunt prey/feed\"]",
"[@cooke-2015; q=\"Attempt to warn off threat\"]"
] | Cuttlefish | Train |
farm_t1_cuttlefish_008 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) | Observation follows an aggressive intra-species tank encounter. | Animal immobilized at the water surface, obvious mantle deformation, and feeding tentacles remain un-retracted. | [
"Cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) Visual Discomfort & Pain Assessment Manual"
] | [
"Staying at the water surface without moving indicates a loss of buoyancy control known as a 'floater'.",
"Mantle deformation is a critical sign of a damaged cuttle bone.",
"If feeding tentacles remain un-retracted, it highlights abnormal body morphology requiring immediate attention."
] | Rough skin texture appearing suddenly out of a camouflage context indicates high stress. | Physical Integrity / Locomotor | Negative_Nociceptive | The presentation of un-retracted tentacles, combined with a shattered or damaged cuttlebone (mantle deformation) and terminal buoyancy loss (floater), represents an irreparable state requiring immediate acute intervention or humane euthanasia. | [
"[@otjacques-2020; q=\"cuttlefish was considered as “floater” if it was staying at the surface of the water without moving or unable to reach and remain at the bottom\"]",
"[@fiorito-2015; q=\"Mantle deformation in cuttlefish indicative of damaged cuttle bone\"]",
"[@fiorito-2015; q=\"Tentacles un-retracted in ... | Cuttlefish | Train |
farm_t1_dog_001 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Canine (Dog) | A working dog resting immediately after an intense physical search and rescue deployment. | The dog exhibits backward directed ears and noticeable tension or stiffness in the muscles around the eyes. | [
"Canine (Dog) Visual Pain Signals and Facial Expressions Manual"
] | [
"In working dogs, visible eye muscle stiffness and flattened ears can be an artifact of physical exhaustion rather than acute pain or nociceptive distress."
] | Tension of the orbital muscles and flattening of the ears are strongly associated with pain and fear, often suggesting a moderate to severe affective distress state. | Facial / Contextual | False_Positive_Physiological | While backward ears and orbital tension are primary indicators of pain across numerous grimace scales, contextual metadata is critical here. The dog is a working dog post-deployment; therefore, these specific facial muscle actions are driven by exhaustion, generating a potential false positive for pain. | [
"[@mota-rojas-2025; q=\"backward ears and tension or stiffness in the muscles around the eyes might be present due to tiredness instead of pain\"]"
] | Dog | Train |
farm_t1_dog_002 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Canine (Dog) | A pet dog sitting by the dinner table, watching its owner consume a highly desirable food item. | The inner brows are actively raised, enlarging the eyes to create a 'sad' or child-like expression. The mouth is relaxed and there is no limb guarding. | [
"Canine (Dog) Visual Pain Signals and Facial Expressions Manual"
] | [
"Dogs may actively contract the levator anguli oculi medialis (AU101) to enlarge their eyes and trigger human caregiving behaviors."
] | Worried facial expressions, such as altered brow positions and darting eyes, are frequently linked to stress or mild acute pain. | Facial / Behavioral | Positive_Welfare | The dog is utilizing the AU101 muscle to create a paedomorphic expression, intentionally soliciting human attention and food. Owners often anthropomorphize this as sadness or guilt, but without corresponding body tension, it reflects positive anticipation rather than true nociceptive pain. | [
"[@mota-rojas-2021; q=\"AU101 muscle... enhances visual contact and confers a child-like appearance\"]"
] | Dog | Train |
farm_t1_dog_003 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Canine (Dog) | A Pug resting comfortably on a dog bed in a cool, quiet room without any ongoing medical concerns. | Minimal body tension is observed, but the dog has permanent deep facial folds mimicking heavily furrowed brows and cheek tension. | [
"Canine (Dog) Visual Pain Signals and Facial Expressions Manual"
] | [
"Brachycephalic dogs possess permanent facial folds that mimic nociceptive facial expressions, causing computer vision models and annotators to incorrectly score them for pain."
] | Furrowed brows and tension of the facial muscles are established components of canine negative nociceptive expressions. | Morphological / Contextual | Neutral_Resting | The deep facial folds are a fixed morphological trait of brachycephalic dogs that can trigger false positives on grimace evaluations. The model must apply a confidence penalty to facial analysis and rely on the dog's relaxed, minimal-tension body posture, which confirms a neutral baseline state. | [
"[@mota-rojas-2021; q=\"cranial structural features of prognathic dogs with short muzzles and deep facial folds do not allow adequate recognition\"]"
] | Dog | Train |
farm_t1_dog_004 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Canine (Dog) | A floppy-eared dog recovering in a veterinary ICU following a severe trauma. | The dog maintains rigid body tension, attempts to chew at bandages, and vocalizes intensely when veterinary staff leave the area. | [
"Canine (Dog) Visual Pain Signals and Facial Expressions Manual"
] | [
"Based on the CSU-CAPS composite pain scale, screaming when unattended and chewing at a wound are signs of severe (Score 4) acute pain.",
"There is no universally validated grimace scale for dogs, making composite assessment of body posture and vocalization necessary."
] | Floppy ears naturally obscure ear base movement, preventing the accurate assessment of the 'ears flattened' facial parameter for fear and pain. | Behavioral / Vocal | Negative_Nociceptive | Even though structural confounders like floppy ears make the dog's facial pain expressions difficult to map using DogFACS, composite pain indicators such as rigid posture, screaming, and wound chewing confidently classify this as a Score 4 on the CSU-CAPS scale for severe pain. | [
"[@hellyer-2006; q=\"Constantly groaning or screaming when unattended\"]",
"[@mota-rojas-2021; q=\"Although there is no developed and validated grimace scale for dogs\"]"
] | Dog | Train |
farm_t1_dog_005 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Canine (Dog) | Post-operative patient resting in a veterinary hospital recovery cage. | The dog exhibits orbital muscle tension, a lowered head, retracted lip corners, flattened ears, and is constantly groaning while remaining unresponsive to surrounding activity. | [
"Canine (Dog) Visual Pain Signals and Facial Expressions Manual"
] | [
"Indicators of pain include orbital tension, flat ears, low head carriage, and lip corner retraction [@mota-rojas-2025; q=\"tension of the orbital muscles, low head position, the tension of the facial muscles, retraction of the corner of the lip, and flattening of the ears can be observed.\"].",
"Severe pain is m... | Assessors must rule out normal tiredness, which can also present with backward ears and eye tension. | Facial / Behavioral | Negative_Nociceptive | The patient is in acute severe pain according to the CSU-CAPS guidelines (Score 4), characterized by constant vocalization and rigid withdrawal from surroundings, combined with classic facial markers of nociception: orbital tension and ear flattening. | [
"[@mota-rojas-2025; q=\"tension of the orbital muscles, low head position, the tension of the facial muscles, retraction of the corner of the lip, and flattening of the ears can be observed.\"]",
"[@hellyer-2006; q=\"Constantly groaning or screaming when unattended\"]"
] | Dog | Train |
farm_t1_dog_006 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Canine (Dog) | Healthy dog staring at an owner who is withholding a piece of food. | The dog frequently performs inner brow raising (causing enlarged, sad-looking eyes). | [
"Canine (Dog) Visual Pain Signals and Facial Expressions Manual"
] | [
"Contraction of the levator anguli oculi medialis mimics expressions of sadness, but rather serves to solicit human attention and care [@mota-rojas-2021; q=\"AU101 muscle... enhances visual contact and confers a child-like appearance\"]."
] | The owner frequently interprets this expression as 'guilt' or 'sadness' (pain), which anthropomorphizes the behavior. | Facial | Positive_Welfare | The inner brow raise (AU101) creates a paedomorphic trait that tricks human observers into assuming negative affect. This is a classic observer effect where the animal actively uses facial muscles to elicit a response (provision of food) from humans rather than nociception. | [
"[@mota-rojas-2021; q=\"AU101 muscle... enhances visual contact and confers a child-like appearance\"]"
] | Dog | Train |
farm_t1_dog_007 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Canine (Dog) | An English Bulldog resting contentedly in a veterinary clinic waiting room. | Deep wrinkles resembling a permanently furrowed brow and tightened cheeks, alongside a short snout. | [
"Canine (Dog) Visual Pain Signals and morphological confounder rules"
] | [
"Prognathic face shapes and resting facial folds create heavy inaccuracies when applying standard pain scales [@mota-rojas-2021; q=\"cranial structural features of prognathic dogs with short muzzles and deep facial folds do not allow adequate recognition\"]."
] | The deep cheek and brow wrinkles heavily mimic nociceptive facial tension, triggering false positives on grimace assessments. | Morphological Phenotype | Neutral_Resting | This is a prime example of a morphological confounder. The brachycephalic features permanently replicate the action units associated with pain, meaning automated CV systems and clinicians must rely on body posture rather than facial signs to avoid false positive pain scores. | [
"[@mota-rojas-2021; q=\"cranial structural features of prognathic dogs with short muzzles and deep facial folds do not allow adequate recognition\"]"
] | Dog | Train |
farm_t1_dog_008 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Canine (Dog) | A physically healthy dog exposed to an unfamiliar environment with loud noises. | Rapid blinking, frequent nose licking, partial parting of the lips, dropping of the jaw, and flattening of the ears against the head. | [
"Canine (Dog) Visual Pain Signals and Facial Expressions Manual"
] | [
"In negative conditions driven by fear or frustration, displacement behaviors and ear adjustments rapidly escalate [@boneh-shitrit-2022; q=\"blink, lips part, jaw drop, nose lick, and ears flattener were more common in the negative condition\"]."
] | The owner assumes the nose-licking is an indicator of hunger since treats were seen nearby. | Facial / Behavioral | Negative_Affective | The combination of rapid blinking, jaw dropping, nose-licking (AD137), and flattened ears are key indicators of fear or stress rather than pain or hunger. This highlights the importance of clustering displacement behaviors to derive a Negative Affective state diagnosis. | [
"[@boneh-shitrit-2022; q=\"blink, lips part, jaw drop, nose lick, and ears flattener were more common in the negative condition\"]"
] | Dog | Train |
farm_t1_donkey_003 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Donkey (Equus asinus) | Veterinary evaluation stall. The donkey is suspected of having an acute episode of colic (abdominal pain). | The donkey's head is held below the withers with a fixed stare toward its flank. It is standing next to a hay net and rhythmically moving its jaws without consuming much roughage. | [
"Donkey Pain Scale (DOPS)",
"EQUUS-DONKEY-FAP"
] | [
"Appetite is not a reliable metric to rule out pain, as donkeys will 'sham eat' to mask vulnerability.",
"Flank watching and carrying the head low are primary postural indicators of visceral abdominal pain."
] | Moving jaws near a food source is typically associated with healthy eating, implying a positive or neutral state. | Behavioral / Postural | Negative_Nociceptive | The donkey is engaging in 'sham eating,' a stoic defense mechanism to mask pain vulnerability from observers. This renders appetite an invalid metric for ruling out distress. The co-occurring flank watching and lowered head confirm severe nociceptive pain driven by colic. | [
"[@oliveira-2021; q=\"The same applies to appetite as it was neither specific nor sensitive and did not show responsiveness.\"]"
] | Donkey | Train |
farm_t1_donkey_004 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Donkey (Equus asinus) | Equine dental clinic recovery room, monitoring the animal immediately following an extensive molar extraction. | The donkey shows flared nostrils with a rigid shape, abnormal sclera (white of the eye) visibility, and a pronounced, strained chin. | [
"EQUUS-DONKEY-FAP"
] | [
"Acute head-related pain should be evaluated using dedicated facial scales (FAP) over composite orthopedic scales.",
"Facial Action Units such as nostril tension, visible sclera, and a strained chin strictly correlate with head and dental pain."
] | Composite scales (COMPASS) evaluating whole-body posture are often applied by default due to standard equine practices. | Facial Action Units (FAUs) | Negative_Nociceptive | For acute craniofacial pain resulting from dental procedures, EQUUS-DONKEY-FAP is the State-of-the-Art assessment tool. The rigid nostril flare and strained chin strongly trigger FAP scoring criteria, representing extreme nociceptive distress isolated to the head. | [
"[@van-dierendonck-2020; q=\"acute orthopaedic pain would be best assessed with the EQUUS-DONKEY-COMPASS scale, while donkeys with acute head-related pain would be best assessed with the EQUUS-DONKEY-FAP\"]"
] | Donkey | Train |
farm_t1_donkey_008 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Donkey (Equus asinus) | Postoperative evaluation of static images 24 hours after a castration procedure. | Subtle changes in facial expression, including narrowed eye shape and a slight lowering of ear posture. Evaluated by a panel, where an evaluator with minimal donkey experience rates the animal as pain-free, while a moderately experienced evaluator flags it for mild-to-moderate pain. | [
"Donkey Grimace Scale (DGS)"
] | [
"Observers with moderate, targeted familiarity with donkeys are the most reliable at detecting true subtle pain signs compared to novices or highly extensive experts. [@orth-2020; q=\"Observers with moderate knowledge of donkeys reported a slightly higher ability to accurately detect signs of pain after castration ... | Observer demographics can also skew data, as women tend to score pain higher and with greater accuracy than men in post-operative donkey imagery. [@orth-2020; q="female observers were more likely than male observers to provide a higher score for post castration pictures. Furthermore, female observers were less likely t... | Facial | Negative_Nociceptive | The nuanced facial action units (orbital tightening and lowered ears) definitively indicate post-castration pain. The false negative from the novice evaluator highlights how the subtle, stoic nature of donkey pain requires observers with at least moderate, scale-specific training. | [
"[@orth-2020; q=\"Observers with moderate knowledge of donkeys reported a slightly higher ability to accurately detect signs of pain after castration than those having extensive knowledge and considerably higher than those having minimal knowledge.\"]",
"[@orth-2020; q=\"female observers were more likely than mal... | Donkey | Train |
farm_t1_ferret_001 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Ferret | Free-roaming play area with new physical enrichment items introduced. | The ferret hops with an arched back in an erratic manner, turns its head laterally with an open mouth, and emits a series of soft chuckle sounds. | [
"Ferret Facial Expressions and Grimace Pain Scale (FGS) Cheatsheet"
] | [
"An arched back, open mouth, and erratic hopping combined with soft chuckles represents the Weasel War Dance and Open Mouth Play Face, indicating a state of extreme positive arousal.",
"The ferret's 'dook' vocalization consists of a series of consecutive soft chuckle sounds indicative of joy."
] | An arched back combined with an open mouth might intuitively be flagged as defensive aggression or abdominal guarding by inexperienced observers. | Behavioral | Positive_Welfare | The subject displays an arched back with erratic hopping, an open-mouthed lateral head turn, and dooking vocalizations. These concurrent behaviors describe the Weasel War Dance and Open Mouth Play Face, definitively categorizing the state as joy and high positive enrichment rather than aggression or nociception. | [
"[@goodfellow-2024; q=\"The animal hops with an arched back in an erratic manner\"]",
"[@goodfellow-2024; q=\"The animal emits a series (> 1) of consecutive soft chuckle sounds\"]",
"[@goodfellow-2024; q=\"The animal opens its mouth and frequently turns its head laterally\"]"
] | Ferret | Train |
farm_t1_ferret_002 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Ferret | Four hours post-abdominal surgery, lateral profile view monitored in a recovery cage. | The eyelids are heavily narrowed with a visible wrinkle around the eye. The bridge of the nose bulges downward and rounds off. Simultaneously, the whiskers are tightly pulled back against the cheeks. | [
"Ferret Facial Expressions and Grimace Pain Scale (FGS) Cheatsheet"
] | [
"Orbital tightening (narrowing of the eyelids) is the most sensitive and specific solitary indicator for pain detection in ferrets.",
"Ferrets exhibiting pain show distinct nose bulging where the nose is pulled down and rounds off.",
"Whisker retraction has a negative predictive weight for ferret pain assessmen... | The whiskers are prominently pulled back against the cheeks in a clumped formation, which is a reliable pain indicator in mice or rats but misleading in ferrets. | Facial | Negative_Nociceptive | The ferret displays evident orbital tightening and downward nose bulging, both of which are robust and validated Action Units for acute pain (Ferret Grimace Scale). Although whisker retraction is present, this specific feature mathematically decreases pain scoring accuracy in ferrets and should be ignored, confirming a... | [
"[@reijgwart-2017; q=\"The eyelids close (orbital area narrows)\"]",
"[@reijgwart-2017; q=\"scoring orbital tightening alone was sufficient to make this distinction with high sensitivity, specificity and accuracy\"]",
"[@reijgwart-2017; q=\"The nose is pulled down\"]",
"[@reijgwart-2017; q=\"The whiskers are ... | Ferret | Train |
farm_t1_ferret_003 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Ferret | An angora-like long-haired ferret observed immediately after abruptly waking from a prolonged resting period. | The ferret is observed with narrowed orbital areas (squinting). Detailed observation of cheek contour and ear position is completely obscured by excessive fur. | [
"Ferret Facial Expressions and Grimace Pain Scale (FGS) Cheatsheet"
] | [
"Ferrets naturally sleep in multi-hour bouts, and immediately upon waking up, they present with squinted eyes that falsely mimic orbital tightening pain faces.",
"Long-haired (angora-like) ferrets yield unreliable scores for cheek and ear Action Units due to coat obfuscation."
] | Orbital tightening is typically the single most robust and heavily weighted indicator of severe pain across mammalian facial grimace scales. | Facial | Neutral_Resting | The narrowing of the orbital area in this context is a common false positive artifact driven by the animal's sleep-wake cycle. While missing data points in the cheek and ear regions occur due to the long-haired phenotype, the immediate context of rousing from sleep confirms the squinting is a harmless baseline waking t... | [
"[@reijgwart-2017; q=\"ferrets sleep in bouts of approximately three hours\"]",
"[@reijgwart-2017; q=\"two of the three long-haired (angora-like ferrets) had significantly more missing scores\"]"
] | Ferret | Train |
farm_t1_ferret_004 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Ferret | A ferret exhibiting chronic behavioral shifts and newly developed group-housing tensions. | The subject is sitting mostly motionless with half-closed eyes, engaging in bruxism, and showing an unkempt coat. During a physical dispute, the ferret delivers a bite to a cagemate, sustaining the grip for 3 seconds while the victim vocalizes and defensively urinates. | [
"Ferret Facial Expressions and Grimace Pain Scale (FGS) Cheatsheet"
] | [
"Ferrets suffering from chronic or visceral comfort masking typical acute facial signs instead present with generalized behaviors such as half-closed eyes, bruxism, lack of grooming, and hiding.",
"A true conspecific aggressive event is distinct from rough play if a bite is sustained for over two seconds and resu... | Rough physical contact frequently mimics aggression in conspecific play, and the lack of primary grimace scale markers might initially rule out pain. | Behavioral | Negative_Affective | The 3-second immobilizing bite resulting in cagemate urination is a definitive marker of severe negative conspecific aggression, not play. Furthermore, the combination of half-closed eyes, unkempt coat, and bruxism indicates the ferret is experiencing significant chronic or visceral pain. It is masking localized acute ... | [
"[@van-oostrom-2011; q=\"half-closed eyes, lack of grooming behavior, bruxism, and hiding themselves\"]",
"[@jimenez-2023; q=\"bite that was sustained for over 2 seconds, immobilized the other ferret, or resulted in the bitten ferret urinating or defecating while fleeing\"]"
] | Ferret | Train |
farm_t1_ferret_005 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Ferret | Ferret being monitored via a lateral cage-side camera 4 hours after a surgical telemetry probe implantation. | The orbital area narrows with a visible wrinkle around the eye. The nose is pulled down and bulges at the bridge. The whiskers are pulled back tightly against the cheek. | [
"Ferret Facial Expressions and Grimace Pain Scale (FGS) Cheatsheet"
] | [
"Orbital tightening is the single most accurate facial indicator of acute pain in ferrets.",
"When in pain, a ferret's nose will be pulled down, bulge, or round off, unlike rats or rabbits whose noses flatten.",
"Whisker retraction should be excluded from automated pain scoring systems because it confuses obser... | The whiskers are pulled back tightly against the cheek, an Action Unit which is visually prominent but must be excluded from diagnostic scoring due to its negative predictive weight. | Facial Action Units (Acute Pain) | Negative_Nociceptive | The subject presents highly reliable indicators of acute pain, specifically orbital tightening and nose bulging. While whisker retraction is also present, it must be ignored by the diagnostic pipeline to maintain accuracy. The state is conclusively assessed as acute procedural pain. | [
"[@reijgwart-2017; q=\"The eyelids close (orbital area narrows)\"]",
"[@reijgwart-2017; q=\"scoring orbital tightening alone was sufficient to make this distinction with high sensitivity, specificity and accuracy\"]",
"[@reijgwart-2017; q=\"The nose is pulled down\"]",
"[@cohen-2020; q=\"rats and rabbits will... | Ferret | Train |
farm_t1_ferret_006 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Ferret | Ferret placed into a large, novel playground area with multiple enrichment toys. | The ferret repeatedly hops around the enclosure with a highly arched back. The mouth is wide open, turning the head side to side laterally, while producing a series of soft, repetitive chuckling sounds. | [
"Ferret Facial Expressions and Grimace Pain Scale (FGS) Cheatsheet"
] | [
"The Open Mouth Play Face and Weasel War Dance, characterized by erratic hopping with an arched back and soft chuckle vocalizations, indicate high positive arousal and joy."
] | The animal displays an open mouth and distinctly arched back, a combination of postural markers that an untrained observer might misinterpret as an aggressive defensive stance or abdominal cramping. | Behavioral / Vocal (Positive Welfare) | Positive_Welfare | Despite the visually intense arched back posture, the concurrent erratic hopping, lateral head turning with an open mouth play face, and consecutive soft chuckles confirm this as a non-aggressive, non-painful state of peak positive enrichment ('Weasel War Dance'). | [
"[@goodfellow-2024; q=\"The animal hops with an arched back in an erratic manner\"]",
"[@goodfellow-2024; q=\"The animal opens its mouth and frequently turns its head laterally\"]",
"[@goodfellow-2024; q=\"The animal emits a series (> 1) of consecutive soft chuckle sounds\"]"
] | Ferret | Train |
farm_t1_ferret_007 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Ferret | A ferret inside its home-cage hammock has just rousted midway through the afternoon. | The ferret is generally relaxed but displays prominent squinting, with the eyelids closed and the orbital area narrowed. This occurs immediately after a multi-hour resting period. | [
"Ferret Facial Expressions and Grimace Pain Scale (FGS) Cheatsheet"
] | [
"Ferrets experience long bouts of sleep, and waking periods often involve natural squinting that mimics the orbital tightening pain response."
] | The eyelids are tightly closed and the orbital area is distinctly narrowed, which is normally the most statistically robust indicator of acute nociception in the Ferret Grimace Scale. | Facial Action Units (False Positive Edge-Case) | Neutral_Resting | The strong orbital tightening present on the ferret's face is an artifact of the sleep-wake cycle. Because ferrets display natural eye-narrowing immediately upon awakening from their standard sleep bouts, this facial phenotype should be categorized as a neutral baseline trait until the ferret is fully awake and active. | [
"[@reijgwart-2017; q=\"The eyelids close (orbital area narrows)\"]",
"[@reijgwart-2017; q=\"ferrets sleep in bouts of approximately three hours\"]"
] | Ferret | Train |
farm_t1_ferret_008 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Ferret | Older ferret presenting for potential gastrointestinal issues at a veterinary clinic. Evaluated cage-side. | The ferret is sitting quietly motionless in the corner. The coat is unkempt due to absent self-grooming, the eyes are partially closed, and there is a distinctly audible, repetitive grinding of the teeth. | [
"Ferret Facial Expressions and Grimace Pain Scale (FGS) Cheatsheet"
] | [
"Ferrets suffering from chronic or visceral (abdominal) pain bypass acute facial grimacing and mask signs via a withdrawal state characterized by half-closed eyes, lack of grooming, hiding, and bruxism."
] | The ferret is sitting completely quiet and motionless, which an untrained observer might misinterpret as relaxed or neutrally resting. | Behavioral Posture and Somatic Markers (Chronic Pain) | Negative_Nociceptive | Ferrets, acting as a predator/prey species, routinely mask chronic abdominal pain. The convergence of a hiding behavior, poor coat condition from a lack of grooming, and bruxism points to significant visceral discomfort and a state of conservation withdrawal. | [
"[@van-oostrom-2011; q=\"half-closed eyes, lack of grooming behavior, bruxism, and hiding themselves\"]"
] | Ferret | Train |
farm_t1_goat_001 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Goat Kid | Evaluating neonate goat kids for systemic illness (e.g., pneumonia or severe diarrhea) using remote camera monitoring. | The goat kid exhibits wide, staring eyes with abnormally large palpebral fissures, and an unusually pointed snout profile with a decreased frontal angle. | [
"Goat Facial Expressions, Behavioral Postures & Holistic Well-Being: Comprehensive Manual & Cheatsheet"
] | [
"Disease-related pain in goat kids manifests atypically as widened eyes rather than eye narrowing.",
"Systemic disease decreases the frontal angle of the nose, resulting in a pointed appearance."
] | Acute procedural pain typically results in orbital tightening, completely closing or significantly narrowing the eye aperture. | Facial | Negative_Nociceptive | Unlike acute procedural pain which causes orbital tightening, systemic disease pain in neonate goats causes a paradoxical widening of the eyes and a pointed nose. | [
"[@arguello-2024; q=\"significant increase in both palpebral fissure height and width. This contrasts with the observed eye closure in other species\"]",
"[@arguello-2024; q=\"frontal angle of the nose decreased at pain level 2 (93.5 and 85.0 degrees)\"]"
] | Goat | Train |
farm_t1_goat_002 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Goat | A human evaluator enters the pen to physically examine an injured goat following transport. | The goat suddenly halts all prior movement, standing in a stiff, motionless stance with standard forward ears and wide open eyes, showing no visible facial grimace. | [
"Goat Facial Expressions, Behavioral Postures & Holistic Well-Being: Comprehensive Manual & Cheatsheet"
] | [
"Human evaluator presence triggers a freeze response in prey species, hiding all behavioral and facial indicators of pain.",
"Goats naturally suppress nociceptive signaling when facing perceived predators, resulting in artificial baseline readings."
] | Classical pain indicators such as cheek bulging, arched back, and vocalization are heavily reliable across other species. | Behavioral | False_Negative_Masking | Because goats are prey animals, the physical presence of a human observer triggers a masking 'freeze' response, masking observable pain indicators and resulting in a False Negative. | [
"[@cohen-2020; q=\"prey animals and as such, are prone to hide signs of pain or demonstrate a freeze response\"]",
"[@mclennan-2019; q=\"many prey species do not overtly express signs of pain and distress when potential predators such as humans are present\"]"
] | Goat | Train |
farm_t1_goat_003 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Goat | Routine monitoring 45 minutes after the administration of an alpha-2 agonist sedative. | The animal possesses half-closed eyes, drooping cheek lines, and both ears are heavily relaxed, pulling downward and backwards symmetrically. | [
"Goat Facial Expressions, Behavioral Postures & Holistic Well-Being: Comprehensive Manual & Cheatsheet"
] | [
"Pharmacological interventions causing heavy sedation trigger extreme muscle relaxation across the face, visually mimicking severe pain indicators like orbital tightening and flattened ears."
] | A score of 2 on the Goat Grimace Scale characterizes ears pulled backward, typically indicating obvious/severe pain. | Facial / Postural | False_Positive_Physiological | Chemical sedatives cause profound facial muscle relaxation, inducing half-closed eyes and pinned back ears that erroneously trigger pain thresholds on the GGS, resulting in a false-positive reading. | [
"[@cohen-2020; q=\"False positives are known to occur in a small range of scenarios such as sedation/anaesthesia, sleeping status\"]"
] | Goat | Train |
farm_t1_goat_004 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Meat Goat | Continuous monitoring via remote barn cameras for acute lameness detection, with zero human presence. | The goat displays a highly constricted, V-shaped nostril, eyes are half closed with visual tension lines around the orbit, and both ears are asymmetrical. Behavioral signs include decreased weight bearing and teeth grinding. | [
"Goat Facial Expressions, Behavioral Postures & Holistic Well-Being: Comprehensive Manual & Cheatsheet"
] | [
"Nociceptive lameness pain provokes severe nostril constriction forming a V-shape, accompanied by asymmetrical ear positions and orbital tension.",
"Locomotor and behavioral shifts such as decreased weight bearing, teeth grinding, and lip-licking are key adjunctive behaviors for nociception."
] | Goats experiencing positive human interactions or seeking social grooming may briefly tilt their ears resulting in temporary asymmetry. | Multimodal (Facial / Behavioral) | Negative_Nociceptive | The combination of severe V-shaped nostril constriction, orbital and masseter tension, asymmetrical ears, and decreased weight bearing firmly establishes a true positive state of acute nociceptive pain. | [
"[@weeder-2023; q=\"0 = U-shaped nose and nostril dilation, 1 = intermediate nose shape, and 2 = V-shaped nose and nostril constriction\"]",
"[@weeder-2023; q=\"0 = symmetrical/forward ears, 1 = asymmetrical ears, and 2 = ears pulled back\"]",
"[@tomacheuski-2023; q=\"decreased or increased frequency of locomot... | Goat | Train |
farm_t1_goat_005 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Goat (Kid) | Farm setting, clinical remote video evaluation of a neonate suffering from severe diarrhea and systemic illness. | Wide open, staring eyes with a notable increase in palpebral fissure height. The nose has a visibly tightened, pointed contour with a decreased frontal angle. No classic orbital narrowing observed. | [
"Goat Facial Expressions, Behavioral Postures & Holistic Well-Being: Comprehensive Manual & Cheatsheet"
] | [
"Disease-related pain in goat kids uniquely causes widened eyes and a pointed nose, contrasting with the procedural pain grimace."
] | Because acute pain typically exhibits orbital tightening, wide open eyes could normally falsely represent a neutral state. | Facial | Negative_Nociceptive | In juvenile goats suffering from systemic disease, grimace indicators invert; they do not show orbital tightening but rather widen their eyes and exhibit a decreased frontal nasal angle. | [
"[@arguello-2024; q='significant increase in both palpebral fissure height and width. This contrasts with the observed eye closure in other species']",
"[@arguello-2024; q='frontal angle of the nose decreased at pain level 2 (93.5 and 85.0 degrees)']"
] | Goat | Train |
farm_t1_goat_006 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Goat (Adult) | In-person clinical evaluation with a veterinarian and handler actively restraining and observing the animal after a known injury. | Stiff, motionless, frozen stance. Eyes are wide open. Ears are pinned backwards. The animal fails to show overt signs of limping or orbital tightening despite the known severe hoof injury. | [
"Goat Facial Expressions, Behavioral Postures & Holistic Well-Being: Comprehensive Manual & Cheatsheet"
] | [
"Prey species often suppress behavioral and facial signs of pain in the presence of predators, such as human evaluators, resulting in a freeze response."
] | Ears pinned back with wide open eyes can represent pure fear/stress (Negative Affective), yet their rigid 'frozen' state here is physically masking a known nociceptive injury. | Behavioral / Facial | False_Negative_Masking | The physical presence of humans triggers a prey survival response, causing the goat to revert to a frozen alert state and mask overt signs of acute pain. | [
"[@mclennan-2019; q='many prey species do not overtly express signs of pain and distress when potential predators such as humans are present']",
"[@cohen-2020; q='prey animals and as such, are prone to hide signs of pain or demonstrate a freeze response']"
] | Goat | Train |
farm_t1_goat_007 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Goat (Adult) | Post-operative recovery pen monitored remotely. The goat recently received heavy sedation (alpha-2 agonist) for a minor suturing procedure. | Profoundly relaxed body posture, droopy, flattened ears pulled backward (asymmetrical/low), half-closed eyes lacking tension lines. | [
"Goat Facial Expressions, Behavioral Postures & Holistic Well-Being: Comprehensive Manual & Cheatsheet"
] | [
"Sedation and anesthesia induce muscle relaxation that mimics grimace features, causing false positives in pain scoring."
] | Dropped ears and half-closed eyes map perfectly to high pain scores on the standard Goat Grimace Scale (GGS). | Facial / Postural | False_Positive_Physiological | Pharmacological interventions like sedatives cause profound muscular relaxation, artificially imitating the orbital tightening and ear drops typical of grimacing and falsely inflating pain scores. | [
"[@cohen-2020; q='False positives are known to occur in a small range of scenarios such as sedation/anaesthesia, sleeping status']"
] | Goat | Train |
farm_t1_goat_008 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Goat (Adult) | Remote video evaluation in a standard pasture. The animal is completely undisturbed by humans. | Aperture of the eyes over half-way closed with distinct tension lines around the orbit. Nostrils are constricted into a sharp V-shape. Ears are pinned straight backwards. Abnormal posture with decreased weight bearing on the left forelimb. | [
"Goat Facial Expressions, Behavioral Postures & Holistic Well-Being: Comprehensive Manual & Cheatsheet"
] | [
"Acute pain manifests visually through orbital tightened eyes, severely constricted nostrils, backward ears, and abnormal weight bearing."
] | Cheek bulging could easily occur if the goat started ruminating/chewing cud, which requires temporal filtering to separate from true masseter tension. | Facial / Behavioral | Negative_Nociceptive | Without observer interference, the goat displays textbook nociceptive pain signs across combined FAUs (orbital tightening, V-shaped nostrils, backward ears) and postural changes (abnormal weight bearing). | [
"[@weeder-2023; q='0 = U-shaped nose and nostril dilation, 1 = intermediate nose shape, and 2 = V-shaped nose and nostril constriction']",
"[@weeder-2023; q='0 = symmetrical/forward ears, 1 = asymmetrical ears, and 2 = ears pulled back']",
"[@tomacheuski-2023; q='decreased or increased frequency of locomotion, ... | Goat | Train |
farm_t1_guinea-pig_001 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Guinea Pig (Cavia porcellus) | A post-operative subject evaluated remotely via video, subsequently observed eating a highly palatable treat given by an automated dispenser. | The animal is actively eating. However, it periodically raises its ventrum from the cage floor and exhibits spasmodic movements of the fur and skin along the flank. | [
"Guinea Pig (Cavia porcellus) Pain Assessment & Visual Signals Manual"
] | [
"Food motivation remains exceptionally high even in severe pain states, meaning highly palatable treats do not rule out painful nociception [@dunbar-2016; q='Because guinea pigs are highly food-motivated, castration did not cause a severe enough pain stimulus to distract them from their intrinsic drive to search fo... | The subject is actively eating a pleasant treat, which in mice often indicates a positive state or lack of distress. For guinea pigs, Time-to-Consumption (TTC) fails as a reliable indicator. | Behavioral / Postural | Negative_Nociceptive | Despite eating eagerly, the guinea pig exhibits distinct abdominal contractions and back twitching. The profound intrinsic drive to eat overrides pain signaling, creating a false negative for novice observers interpreting feeding as comfort. The remote observation correctly captures true intermittent nociceptive behavi... | [
"[@dunbar-2016; q='Because guinea pigs are highly food-motivated, castration did not cause a severe enough pain stimulus to distract them from their intrinsic drive to search for food.']",
"[@dunbar-2016; q='tensing of the abdomen resulting in the ventrum being momentarily, sometimes repeatedly, raised from the c... | Guinea-pig | Train |
farm_t1_guinea-pig_002 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Guinea Pig (Cavia porcellus) | In-person clinical evaluation by a human observer assessing a potentially unwell laboratory guinea pig. | The animal is completely stiff and motionless. Its eyes are open, and its attention is highly vigilant and fixed heavily on the human observer. No overt grimacing or postural twitches are visible. | [
"Guinea Pig (Cavia porcellus) Pain Assessment & Visual Signals Manual"
] | [
"Guinea pigs invoke 'conservation withdrawal' in the presence of humans, effectively hiding clinical signs of severe illness or pain [@dunbar-2016; q='Guinea pigs, like most rodents, exhibit a ‘conservation withdrawal’ response and tend to hide overt signs of illness in the presence of an observer... natural tonic ... | The total absence of clinical pain indicators (such as hunched back, twitching, or vocalization) might lead unprepared evaluators to score the animal as resting or unaffected. | Postural / Behavioral | Negative_Affective | The presence of a human triggers an innate prey-animal freezing response (tonic immobility). While the animal appears still and displays no grimacing or back-arching, this is an acute fear state (Negative_Affective) that suppresses external pain displays. Due to this observer effect, a lack of overt pain signs here can... | [
"[@dunbar-2016; q='Guinea pigs, like most rodents, exhibit a ‘conservation withdrawal’ response and tend to hide overt signs of illness in the presence of an observer... natural tonic immobility (freezing response).']",
"[@nc3rs-ethograms; q='Freezing: Animal remains motionless when disturbed. Body is stiff (non-... | Guinea-pig | Train |
farm_t1_guinea-pig_003 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Guinea Pig (Cavia porcellus) | Social interaction recording between an intact male Guinea pig and female conspecifics within a shared, enriched enclosure. | The male guinea pig performs a rhythmic oscillation of its hindquarters alongside alternating lifting of the hind legs. This is accompanied by vocalizations but no defensive posturing. | [
"Guinea Pig (Cavia porcellus) Pain Assessment & Visual Signals Manual"
] | [
"The 'rumba' display is a positive social soliciting behavior exclusive to guinea pigs involving rhythmic bodily oscillation and hind leg lifting [@nc3rs-ethograms; q='male soliciting behaviour (e.g. guinea-pig ‘rumba’: rhythmic oscillation of hindquarters, alternate lifting of hind legs and rumbling vocalisation)'... | The animal is lifting its hind limbs repeatedly, which could be misidentified as 'weight shifting' (transferring body weight between limbs), a known indicator of physical discomfort or pain [@dunbar-2016; q='transfer of body weight by shifting of limbs in the absence of locomotion']. | Behavioral / Social Display | Positive_Welfare | Context and the rhythmic, oscillatory nature of the movement confirm this is the guinea-pig 'rumba', a positive male courting display. A purely biomechanical AI tracker might mistakenly flag the alternate leg lifting as nociceptive 'weight shifting', but the presence of conspecific interaction and rhythmic hindquarter ... | [
"[@nc3rs-ethograms; q='male soliciting behaviour (e.g. guinea-pig ‘rumba’: rhythmic oscillation of hindquarters, alternate lifting of hind legs and rumbling vocalisation)']",
"[@dunbar-2016; q='transfer of body weight by shifting of limbs in the absence of locomotion']"
] | Guinea-pig | Train |
farm_t1_guinea-pig_005 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Guinea Pig (Cavia porcellus) | Live clinical evaluation, 4 hours post-castration, with an unfamiliar veterinary student standing directly in front of the cage. | The animal is completely motionless, stiff, and highly vigilant. When the observer offers a highly palatable food treat, the guinea pig readily accepts and rapidly consumes it. | [
"Guinea Pig (Cavia porcellus) Pain Assessment & Visual Signals Manual"
] | [
"Guinea pigs are intensely food-motivated and will eat treats even while under significant postoperative pain.",
"In the presence of humans, guinea pigs exhibit a conservation withdrawal response resulting in tonic immobility where they mask overt signs of pain."
] | Treat consumption (Time-to-Consumption) is a standard indicator of a pain-free state in many other rodents (like mice), and the lack of orbital tightening suggests no facial pain. | Behavioral Posture & Functional Activity | False_Negative_Masking | The SoTA multidimensional assessment cautions that food consumption is a false negative for pain in guinea pigs due to extreme food motivation. Furthermore, the stiff, motionless posture is a classic 'freezing' or 'conservation withdrawal' reflex triggered by the presence of a human observer. The animal is actively mas... | [
"[@dunbar-2016; q=\"Because guinea pigs are highly food-motivated, castration did not cause a severe enough pain stimulus to distract them from their intrinsic drive to search for food.\"]",
"[@dunbar-2016; q=\"Guinea pigs, like most rodents, exhibit a ‘conservation withdrawal’ response and tend to hide overt sig... | Guinea-pig | Train |
farm_t1_guinea-pig_006 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Guinea Pig (Cavia porcellus) | Remote video recording of an isolated guinea pig in its home cage, sampled via fixed-interval technique. | The animal's back is rounded into a hunched appearance. Remotely, fleeting tensing of the abdomen is observed where the ventrum is momentarily and repeatedly raised off the floor. Occasional spasmodic movements of the fur along the dorsum are visible. | [
"Guinea Pig (Cavia porcellus) Pain Assessment & Visual Signals Manual"
] | [
"Abdominal contraction with the ventrum rhythmically raised is a subtle but specific bodily indicator of pain.",
"A rounded back resulting in a hunched appearance indicates negative nociceptive states.",
"Spasmodic twitching of the fur and skin over the dorsum and flanks correlates with pain."
] | The guinea pig's face appears perfectly neutral, with no orbital tightening, cheek bulging, or ear changes that generally signal pain in automated facial action tracking. | Subtle Body Movements | Negative_Nociceptive | Facial expressions are poor indicators of pain in guinea pigs. Thus, the absence of facial grimacing does not mean the animal is comfortable. The presence of subtle body movements captured remotely—specifically a hunched back, raised ventrum from abdominal tensing, and spasmodic twitching over the dorsum—strongly confi... | [
"[@chiavaccini-2024; q=\"preliminary data suggest that facial expression might not be able to be evaluated in the species.\"]",
"[@dunbar-2016; q=\"tensing of the abdomen resulting in the ventrum being momentarily, sometimes repeatedly, raised from the cage floor\"]",
"[@dunbar-2016; q=\"rounding of the back re... | Guinea-pig | Train |
farm_t1_guinea-pig_008 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Guinea Pig (Cavia porcellus) | Observation of conspecific interactions in a newly enriched floor pen. | A male guinea pig performs a rhythmic oscillation of his hindquarters, alternately lifting his hind legs, while emitting a low, rumbling vocalization directed toward another animal. | [
"Guinea Pig (Cavia porcellus) Pain Assessment & Visual Signals Manual"
] | [
"Male soliciting behavior is uniquely expressed via a multimodal display involving rhythmic oscillation of hindquarters and rumbling vocalizations."
] | Sudden, rhythmic, or alternating body movements might initially be mistaken by a naive observer for spasmodic pain twitches or agonistic fleeing. | Multimodal Behavioral Display | Positive_Welfare | This highly specific suite of behaviors perfectly describes the 'rumba', a species-exclusive courtship and soliciting display. The rhythmic movement of the hindquarters and alternating lifting of the hind legs confirm reproductive and positive social affilliative interest, clearly distinguishing it from generic stress ... | [
"[@nc3rs-ethograms; q=\"male soliciting behaviour (e.g. guinea-pig ‘rumba’: rhythmic oscillation of hindquarters, alternate lifting of hind legs and rumbling vocalisation)\"]"
] | Guinea-pig | Train |
farm_t1_horse_001 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Horse (Foal) | Routine remote monitoring of a 1-month-old neonate foal free-roaming in a stall with its dam. | The foal is observed lying in prolonged recumbency. While standing, it occasionally exhibits a flehmen response and displays visible sclera while exploring the stall. No muscle tremors, restless shifting, or licking/chewing behaviors are observed. | [
"Equine Visual Pain Recognition & Grimace Scale Manual",
"EQUUS-FAP FOAL"
] | [
"Sclera visibility is a normal, healthy baseline trait in foals and is not indicative of orbital tightening or pain.",
"Foals naturally perform the flehmen response during non-painful environmental exploration.",
"Prolonged recumbency is a natural physiological state for foals unless accompanied by restlessness... | In adult horses, spontaneous flehmen responses out of context, accompanied by visible sclera (‘angled eye’), are severe, highly correlated markers of acute nociception. | Facial / Behavioral | Negative_Nociceptive | The subject is a neonate foal, requiring entirely different ethogram parameters (e.g., EQUUS-FAP FOAL) than adult horses. Normal foal behavior heavily incorporates recumbency, spontaneous flehmen during environmental exploration, and visible sclera. Because there are no secondary signs of discomfort (such as muscle tre... | [
"[@lanci-2022; q='visibility of the sclera was omitted from the facial action unit “eyelids” because many healthy pain-free foals also show their sclera']",
"[@lanci-2022; q='physiological and behavioural differences between foals and mature horses; consequently, discomfort ethograms are unlikely to be fully simi... | Horse | Train |
farm_t1_horse_003 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Horse (Adult) | Comparison of a 2-minute remote spatiotemporal stall video and a concurrent in-person veterinary physical exam. | On the remote camera, the horse is repeatedly yawning, holding a 'zoned out' glassy-eyed stare, and the temporal crest bone is clearly visible. When the veterinarian enters the stall, the temporal tension disappears, the ears rotate alertly forward, and the yawning ceases immediately. | [
"Equine Visual Pain Recognition & Grimace Scale Manual"
] | [
"Horses are highly stoic prey animals that instinctively suppress behavioral and facial markers of pain when exposed to human caretakers or potential threats.",
"Glassy-eyed staring, repeated yawning bouts, and visible temporal crest tension are proven indicators of equine discomfort."
] | During the direct veterinary observation, the horse appears environmentally focused and scores a 0 on the Horse Grimace Scale, suggesting total comfort. | Behavioral / Spatiotemporal | False_Negative_Masking | This scenario demonstrates 'The Observer Effect,' a critical confounder in equine pain assessment. As stoic prey animals, horses will reflexively mask their pain indicators when a human approaches to avoid appearing vulnerable. The remote, unobtrusive video reveals genuine underlying acute pain (evident via recurrent y... | [
"[@torcivia-2021; q='ongoing discomfort behaviors diminished or stopped altogether during caretaker visits']",
"[@torcivia-2021; q='Less responsive to the environment, often with “zoned out,” worried, or glassy-eyed staring']"
] | Horse | Train |
farm_t1_horse_004 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Horse (Adult) | Continuous unobserved optical flow (RNN) video processing over a 3-minute window in a quiet resting stall. | The horse repeatedly stretches out its hind limbs similar to a urination stance without urinating. It frequently glances backward at its flank. The ears are actively pulled toward the midline (adducted) and asymmetrically rotated. | [
"Equine Visual Pain Recognition & Grimace Scale Manual",
"Equine Acute Abdominal Pain Scale (EAAPS)",
"EquiFACS"
] | [
"Ear adduction and asymmetrical rotation strongly correlate with true pain, compared to symmetrical ear flattening which relates to restful sleep.",
"Flank watching and non-productive stretching are definitive behavioral postures diagnostic of visceral (colic) distress."
] | Lowered and flattened ears are a common, physiologically normal sign of sleep or rest in horses, possibly leading observers to categorize the animal as merely fatigued. | Facial / Behavioral | Negative_Nociceptive | The spatiotemporal data clearly isolates characteristics of acute visceral pain. While ordinary lowered ears might suggest simple sleep, EquiFACS guidelines highlight that active ear adduction and asymmetrical rotation are definitive nociceptive signals. Furthermore, combined with pathognomonic behavioral whole-body cu... | [
"[@ask-2024; q='flattening and rotating both ears (EAD103 and EAD104) instead were associated with no pain, which is in agreement with previous findings that lowered ears can be seen during sleep']",
"[@sutton-2013; q='Flehman (lip curling), rolling, pawing, sternal recumbency, lateral recumbency, attempting to l... | Horse | Train |
farm_t1_horse_005 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Equine (Foal) | A 2-month-old foal exploring an outdoor paddock. Assessed via remote camera to prevent the observer effect. | The foal frequently exhibits the Flehmen response (curling of the upper lip) after sniffing the grass, its sclera is highly visible, and it spends significant time in recumbency without muscle tremors. | [
"Equine Visual Pain Recognition & Grimace Scale Manual"
] | [
"In foals, sclera visibility is a normal physiological feature and not an indicator of orbital tightening or pain.",
"Foals frequently normally perform the flehmen response out of curiosity, unlike adult horses where it indicates discomfort."
] | In adult horses, spontaneous flehmen out of context is a strong pain indicator. | Facial / Behavioral | Negative_Nociceptive | While visible sclera and flehmen responses are valid pain indicators in adult horses, they are baseline exploratory behaviors in foals. Recumbency without tremors is also normal for this age group, indicating a pain-free state. | [
"[@lanci-2022; q=\"visibility of the sclera was omitted from the facial action unit “eyelids” because many healthy pain-free foals also show their sclera\"]",
"[@torcivia-2021; q=\"with discomfort, flehmen may occur out of that context.\"]"
] | Horse | Train |
farm_t1_horse_006 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Equine (Adult) | Live, in-stall clinical evaluation by a human veterinarian immediately following a suspected colic episode. | As the veterinarian enters the stall, the horse immediately stands alert, pointing ears forward, with widened eyes and a neutral facial expression (HGS = 0). No flank watching is observed. | [
"Equine Visual Pain Recognition & Grimace Scale Manual"
] | [
"Prey animals reflexively mask pain signs and discomfort in the presence of humans, leading to false negatives during in-person assessments."
] | Widened eyes with visible sclera can be associated with stress or fear rather than a pain-free state. | Behavioral / Observer Effect | False_Negative_Masking | The sudden cessation of potential pain behaviors upon human entry is the classic 'observer effect'. Horses are stoic prey animals that mask vulnerability. A remote or camera-based assessment is required to confirm the true affective state without human-induced behavioral artifacts. | [
"[@torcivia-2021; q=\"ongoing discomfort behaviors diminished or stopped altogether during caretaker visits\"]",
"[@nasem-2021; q=\"stress-induced analgesia or hypoalgesia and is considered typical in prey animals\"]"
] | Horse | Train |
farm_t1_horse_008 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Equine (Adult) | Unobtrusive remote camera observation in a quiet, dark stable during late-night hours. | The horse shows lowered, flattened ears without tension or asymmetrical rotation. The facial profile is relaxed, but there is slight stiffness in the muscles around the eyes. No weight shuffling occurs. | [
"Equine Visual Pain Recognition & Grimace Scale Manual"
] | [
"Flattening and lowering both ears without adduction or rotation is a sign of sleep, distinguishing it from pain-related stiffly backward ears.",
"Tension around the eye muscles can be an artifact of tiredness."
] | Ear adduction (ears pulled toward the midline) and asymmetrical rotation are precise EquiFACS predictors of acute pain. | Facial / Resting State | False_Positive_Physiological | The lowered and flattened ears without tension indicate the horse is in a normal resting state. Although slight eye stiffness is present, this is a known physiological response to tiredness and fatigue, not painful orbital tightening. | [
"[@ask-2024; q=\"flattening and rotating both ears (EAD103 and EAD104) instead were associated with no pain, which is in agreement with previous findings that lowered ears can be seen during sleep\"]",
"[@mota-rojas-2025; q=\"appearance of FAU such as backward ears and tension or stiffness in the muscles around t... | Horse | Train |
farm_t1_human_002 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Human | Elderly Care Facility, patient suffers from advanced progressive dementia and is unable to communicate verbally. | Patient has their knees pulled to their chest, fists clenched, and exhibits prominent brow-lowering alongside raised, tightened cheeks. | [
"Human Facial Pain Recognition & Grimace Scale Cheatsheet"
] | [
"Advanced cognitive impairment destroys self-reporting ability, necessitating reliance on reflex and behavioral indicators.",
"The core facial nociception configuration consists of brow-lowering, eyelid tightening, and levator contraction.",
"Clenched fists, pulling away or pushing, and extreme physical rigidit... | The patient cannot comprehend or respond to simple direct evaluations regarding pain presence, rendering self-reports invalid. | Facial / Behavioral | Negative_Nociceptive | The patient cannot utilize self-reporting tools (VAS), but maintains their lower-level reflexive behavioral cues. The visible indicators precisely match the core pain AUs (AU 4, 6/7) combined with classical skeletal bracing (knees pulled up, clenched fists), allowing the observer to conclusively chart severe acute pain... | [
"[@warden-2003; q=\"individuals with advanced dementia are unable to comprehend and therefore unable to use even the simplest of these scales for pain measurement.\"]",
"[@prkachin-2008; q=\"Brow-lowering, tightening the eyelids or raising the cheeks (orbit tightening), nose wrinkling or upper-lip raising (levato... | Human | Train |
farm_t1_human_003 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Human | Pre-operative suite, patient is eagerly awaiting a highly invasive, high-risk biopsy procedure. | Patient is continuously pacing the width of the room while fiddling with their gown string. They show wide-open, staring eyes and are intermittently frowning. | [
"Human Facial Pain Recognition & Grimace Scale Cheatsheet"
] | [
"Fear and alarm manifest anatomically through distinctly widened eyes, unlike the orbital tightening found in acute pain.",
"Distressed pacing, restlessness, and fidgeting indicate negative affectivity such as stress or anxiety."
] | The severe frowning and somatic muscular tension might mistakenly be interpreted as the initiation of a pain grimace. | Facial / Postural | Negative_Affective | Frowning presents a diagnostic ambiguity, but it must be contextualized. Crucially, the presence of wide-open eyes inherently contradicts the orbital tightening (squinting) universally bound to physical nociception. Combined with continuous fidgeting and pacing, the indicators specifically map to psychological distress... | [
"[@warden-2003; q=\"Frightened is characterized by a look of fear, alarm or heightened anxiety. Eyes appear wide open.\"]",
"[@warden-2003; q=\"Tense. Distressed pacing. Fidgeting.\"]"
] | Human | Train |
farm_t1_human_005 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Human | Intubated patient in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) recovering from major tissue trauma without deep paralysis. | The patient pulls their eyebrows down and together, tightens the eyelids while raising the cheeks, and exhibits bodily rigidity while actively pushing against the endotracheal tube (ventilator). | [
"Human Facial Pain Recognition & Grimace Scale Cheatsheet"
] | [
"The core facial expression of pain includes brow-lowering, orbit tightening, levator contraction, and eye closure.",
"In non-verbal critical care patients, fighting the ventilator and poor compliance are behavioral indicators of pain mapped as a high score on the CPOT scale."
] | Mouth opening and secondary eye squinting may occur strictly as a mechanical artifact of loud vocalizing or coughing (e.g., around the tube), which can overlap with genuine pain AUs. | Facial / Behavioral | Negative_Nociceptive | The presence of AU 4 (brow lowering) and AU 6/7 (orbit tightening) strongly correlates with the core PSPI pain metric. Concurrently, fighting the ventilator is a score of 2 on the CPOT scale, confidently indicating acute physical nociception requiring intervention. | [
"[@prkachin-2008; q='Brow-lowering, tightening the eyelids or raising the cheeks (orbit tightening), nose wrinkling or upper-lip raising (levator contraction) and eye closure']",
"[@afenigus-2024; q='2 = fighting ventilator (Poorly compliant)']",
"[@prkachin-2008; q='Mouth opening accompanies vocalization. It m... | Human | Train |
farm_t1_human_006 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Human | Elderly patient residing in a memory care facility with a documented history of severe, unmanaged chronic osteoarthritis. | The patient cannot verbally self-report their condition. They display clenched fists and aggressively pull away when staff attempt to mobilize their joints. The facial expression appears completely blank and devoid of pronounced grimacing. | [
"Human Facial Pain Recognition & Grimace Scale Cheatsheet"
] | [
"Patients with advanced cognitive impairment lose the ability to comprehend or utilize simple self-reporting scales, necessitating observational behavioral tools like PAINAD.",
"Adaptation to chronic pain causes facial expressions to fade over the long term, masking the nociceptive reality."
] | The lack of facial action unit activation (an inexpressive, blank face) typically corresponds to a neutral or comfortable baseline state in acute assessments. | Behavioral / Physical | False_Negative_Masking | Despite the lack of facial grimacing (due to chronic pain adaptation), the patient's advanced dementia necessitates the use of the PAINAD scale. The rigid bodily cues, clenched fists, and pulling away are highly indicative of unmitigated chronic nociception rather than a neutral state. | [
"[@warden-2003; q='individuals with advanced dementia are unable to comprehend and therefore unable to use even the simplest of these scales for pain measurement.']",
"[@mclennan-2019; q='Animals suffering from chronic pain are unlikely to maintain a certain expression in the long term']",
"[@warden-2003; q='Ri... | Human | Train |
farm_t1_human_007 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Human | Conscious patient in a waiting room anticipating a highly distressing and invasive medical procedure. | The patient is repeatedly pacing the room and fidgeting with their garments. Their eyes are wide open with a look of alarm, and the corners of their mouth are turned downward, but there is no orbital tightening or nose wrinkling. | [
"Human Facial Pain Recognition & Grimace Scale Cheatsheet"
] | [
"Fear presents with widened eyes and a look of heightened anxiety, which distinguishes it from the orbital tightening seen in acute pain.",
"Negative affective states are behaviorally marked by distressed pacing and restlessness."
] | Frowning (downward turn of the mouth) often appears in general distress but lacks the core upper-face nociceptive Action Units required to classify as acute physical pain. | Facial / Behavioral | Negative_Affective | The patient's behavior (pacing, fidgeting) coupled with wide-open eyes clearly aligns with fear and distress. The distinct absence of AU 6/7 (squinting/orbit tightening) correctly differentiates this affective state from physical nociception. | [
"[@warden-2003; q='Frightened is characterized by a look of fear, alarm or heightened anxiety. Eyes appear wide open.']",
"[@warden-2003; q='Tense. Distressed pacing. Fidgeting.']"
] | Human | Train |
farm_t1_human_008 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Human | ICU patient suffering from severe acute peritonitis, currently under heavy pharmacological sedation and a neuromuscular blockade. | The patient exhibits a perfectly inexpressive, blank facial look. There is an absence of body movement, and respirations match the ventilator perfectly without any rigid muscle bracing. | [
"Human Facial Pain Recognition & Grimace Scale Cheatsheet"
] | [
"Neuromuscular blocking agents disconnect motor pathways, rendering facial expression metrics highly unreliable and prone to false negatives.",
"An inexpressive appearance signifies a neutral or blank look, but this can be artificially induced despite underlying nociception."
] | Smooth respirations and an absence of abnormal movements (CPOT score of 0) highly mimic a Positive Welfare or Natural Resting state. | Physiological Confounder | False_Negative_Masking | Although the CPOT visual indicators (facial expression, body movement) score 0, reflecting a relaxed or neutral state, this is a physiological confounder. The neuromuscular blockade creates a pharmacological mask, yielding a false negative in an otherwise highly painful acute abdominal condition. | [
"[@afenigus-2024; q='patients under neuromuscular blocking agents, the facial expression component of CPOT may not be a reliable indicator of pain']",
"[@warden-2003; q='Inexpressive refers to a neutral, at ease, relaxed, or blank look.']",
"[@afenigus-2024; q='0 = absence of movement or normal position']"
] | Human | Train |
farm_t1_macaque_001 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Cynomolgus Macaque | An adult male is observed remotely in his home cage during a resting baseline period, without any recent surgical procedures or painful stimuli. | Slight bulging of the medial brow ridge (procerus muscle) is noted, but there is no orbital tightening, no lip tightening, and posture is relaxed. | [
"F.A.R.M. Multi-Species Affective State & Grimace Scale Manual",
"MaqFACS",
"CMGS"
] | [
"Male macaques natively show higher grimace scores at baseline due to aggression or vigilance rather than pain.",
"Brow lowering in macaques presents as a medial bulging of the procerus muscle due to their lack of traditional eyebrows."
] | The bulging medial brow ridge might falsely indicate pain via the Cynomolgus Macaque Grimace Scale (CMGS), but in males, baseline morphological and behavioral traits inflate these scores. | Facial / Behavioral | Neutral_Resting | Since adult male macaques have naturally elevated baseline grimace facial setups related to aggression or vigilance, and there are no other action units (e.g., orbital tightening, hunched posture) present, this constitutes a neutral baseline state despite a non-zero grimace reading. | [
"[@paterson-2023; q=\"male macaques inherently have higher grimace scores at rest, due to other affective states, such as aggression\"]",
"[@paterson-2023; q=\"Macaques do not have eyebrows, rather they have brow ridges, and a bulging of muscles of the medial brow ridge (i.e., procerus muscle) has been identified... | Macaque | Train |
farm_t1_macaque_002 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Rat | 1.5 hours post-operative recovery context following a minor surgical procedure. The subject has recently been removed from isoflurane anesthesia. | The rat's nose is flattened against its face, and there is slight orbital tightening. | [
"F.A.R.M. Multi-Species Affective State & Grimace Scale Manual",
"Rat Grimace Scale (RGS)"
] | [
"Rats flatten their noses in response to pain, unlike mice which display a nose bulge.",
"Isoflurane anesthesia can falsely inflate the Rat Grimace Scale (RGS) for several hours after administration."
] | The flattened nose and orbital tightening strictly indicate pain on the RGS; however, the recent use of isoflurane acts as a physiological confounder that artificially mimics these expressions. | Facial / Physiological | False_Positive_Physiological | Although the visual cues precisely map to expected pain expressions (flattened nose in rats vs. bulged in mice), manual guidelines require discounting grimace scores within a 2-hour window of anesthesia recovery because isoflurane artificially inflates facial tension scores up to 2.5. | [
"[@cohen-2020; q=\"rats and rabbits will flatten their nose when in pain while mice and ferrets bulge their noses\"]",
"[@mota-rojas-2025; q=\"isoflurane increases the RGS score (~up to 2.5) and this needs to be considered when evaluating pain\"]"
] | Macaque | Train |
farm_t1_macaque_003 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Guinea Pig | Clinical laboratory setting. The animal suffered a recent acute injury and is being assessed by veterinary staff using standard facial grimace parameters. | Facial features appear relatively relaxed with no discernible orbital tightening or nose bulging, despite the presence of a known tissue injury. | [
"F.A.R.M. Multi-Species Affective State & Grimace Scale Manual"
] | [
"Guinea pigs are a documented morphological exception and do not show reliable facial indicators of pain."
] | The lack of visible facial action units (grimacing) usually implies absence of pain, acting as a red herring for observers relying too heavily on universal grimace scales. | Morphological Exclusion | Negative_Nociceptive | Relying on facial scales for this species will yield false negatives. The animal has an acute injury and is in a nociceptive state, but guinea pigs lack the facial communicative morphology seen in mice or rats, necessitating reliance strictly on behavioral and postural evaluation. | [
"[@cohen-2020; q=\"guinea pigs do not appear to be good candidates for facial pain scales\"]"
] | Macaque | Train |
farm_t1_macaque_004 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Horse | Early morning evaluation in the animal's stall. A male observer wearing a t-shirt used in previous handling sessions approaches to record data. | The horse displays backward-pointing ears and mild stiffness/tension in the muscles around the eyes. | [
"F.A.R.M. Multi-Species Affective State & Grimace Scale Manual",
"Horse Grimace Scale (HGS)"
] | [
"Tiredness in horses can manifest overlapping facial action units with pain, such as backward ears and eye tension.",
"The scent or presence of male observers strongly inhibits true affective facial expressions of pain due to a prey-predator masking response."
] | Backward ears and eye tension are classic metrics on composite pain scales; however, here they are triggered by sleep inertia rather than nociception. | Facial / Contextual | Neutral_Resting | The visual cues (backward ears and eye tension) are artifacts of normal physiological tiredness (sleep inertia). Additionally, the presence of a male observer fundamentally compromises the reliability of pain assessment due to evolutionary masking effects. | [
"[@mota-rojas-2025; q=\"appearance of FAU such as backward ears and tension or stiffness in the muscles around the eyes might be present due to tiredness instead of pain\"]",
"[@mclennan-2019; q=\"presence of a male observer or even simply a t-shirt worn by a male observer the previous night, has been shown to in... | Macaque | Train |
farm_t1_macaque_005 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Rhesus Macaque | Adult male resting in home cage; evaluated via automated video to establish baseline before surgery. | Medial bulging of the glabellar region smoothing wrinkles on the vertical nose ridge; high overall grimace score while at rest. | [
"F.A.R.M. Multi-Species Affective State & Grimace Scale Manual"
] | [
"Macaques lack eyebrows and instead present brow lowering through the bulging of the procerus muscle.",
"Male macaques natively show higher grimace scores at rest due to aggression or vigilance, not necessarily pain.",
"Brow lowering consists prominently of medial bulging in the glabellar area."
] | The high facial grimace score and visible medial bulging in the glabellar region might falsely suggest nociceptive pain. | Facial | Neutral_Resting | Despite an elevated grimace score and visible brow lowering (medial bulging of the glabellar region/procerus muscle), this reflects normal baseline physiological variance for adult male macaques driven by aggression or social vigilance, not acute pain. | [
"[@paterson-2023; q=\"male macaques inherently have higher grimace scores at rest, due to other affective states, such as aggression\"]",
"[@parr-2010; q=\"brow lowering movement appears to consist mostly of a medial bulging in the glabellar region\"]",
"[@paterson-2023; q=\"Macaques do not have eyebrows, rathe... | Macaque | Train |
farm_t1_macaque_007 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Mouse | Male technician routinely enters the room to perform live assessment after a painful stimulus. | Absence of orbital or lip tightening; subject exhibits continuous bar circling within the enclosure. | [
"F.A.R.M. Multi-Species Affective State & Grimace Scale Manual"
] | [
"The presence of a male observer, or a t-shirt worn by one, inhibits facial pain expressions.",
"Bar circling is a stereotypic, functionless behavior indicative of stress or negative affective state."
] | The lack of visible facial grimacing in the subject implies a normal, non-painful state. | Behavioral | Negative_Affective | The mouse's lack of grimacing is a false negative caused by the observer effect (presence of a male). The bar circling clearly indicates a negative affective state (stress/fear/anxiety) which overlaps and masks the expected nociceptive pain signals. | [
"[@mclennan-2019; q=\"presence of a male observer or even simply a t-shirt worn by a male observer the previous night, has been shown to inhibit the facial expression of pain\"]",
"[@nc3rs-ethogram; q=\"Repetitive, unchanging and apparently functionless behaviour, including: bar circling in mice\"]"
] | Macaque | Train |
farm_t1_macaque_008 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Pig (Sow) | Isolated sow immediately evaluated post-farrowing complications using a wall-mounted camera. | The eyes are fully open with visible ocular sclera; distinct multiple skin folds form above the snout. | [
"F.A.R.M. Multi-Species Affective State & Grimace Scale Manual"
] | [
"In adult sows, severe pain presents atypically with fully open eyes and visible ocular sclera rather than orbital tightening.",
"A nose bulge in porcine species manifests as skin folds above the snout, contrasting with the protuberance seen in rodents."
] | Because the eyes are wide open rather than squeezed (orbital tightening), a novice AI might classify the sow as alert/normal. | Facial | Negative_Nociceptive | Unlike piglets or other mammals that demonstrate squeezed eyes during pain, a sow with wide-open eyes showing sclera and displaying snout skin folds is presenting verified species-specific signs of severe nociceptive pain. | [
"[@mota-rojas-2025; q=\"in sows, eyes completely open with the ocular sclera visible is an indication of severe pain\"]",
"[@mota-rojas-2025; q=\"In contrast, “nose bulge” in piglets and pigs refers to several skin folds above the snout\"]"
] | Macaque | Train |
farm_t1_mice_001 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Mouse (Mus musculus) | Observation of a stationary white CD-1 mouse in its home cage during the light phase (inactive/resting period), displaying no spontaneous movement. | The mouse has its eyes completely closed, narrowing the orbital area, and its ears are relaxed and resting slightly back. | [
"Comprehensive Manual: Mouse Facial Expressions, Behavioral Postures & Automatic Pain Recognition"
] | [
"Sleeping and drowsiness perfectly mimic high Mouse Grimace Scale (MGS) scores due to closed eyes and relaxed ears."
] | Composite pain postures highly correlate with elevated MGS scores and include back arching and circling. | Facial / Confounder | False_Positive_Physiological | The subject is simply sleeping during its inactive diurnal phase. Closed eyes and relaxed ears in sleeping mice represent a major confounder that mimics high MGS scores, thus observations should be limited to the active phase or immediately following an insult. | [
"[@tuttle-2018; q='our model has difficulty distinguishing between images of sleeping and grimacing mice, much like human observers.']"
] | Mice | Train |
farm_t1_mice_002 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Mouse (Mus musculus) | Evaluation of a black laboratory mouse strain (C57BL/6) utilizing an automated computer vision pipeline (PainFace) in a high-illumination environment (>1500 lux). | The mouse displays visible narrowing of the orbital area and ears pulled apart, but the cheek profile appears flat with no distinguishable convexity due to the dark pelt. | [
"Comprehensive Manual: Mouse Facial Expressions, Behavioral Postures & Automatic Pain Recognition"
] | [
"In black-coated mice, nose and cheek bulges are notoriously difficult to score due to low contrast, leading automated systems to exclude the cheek bulge entirely from scoring."
] | Only orbital tightening and cheek bulge are mathematically needed to build the optimal linear discriminant classifier for the standard white mouse MGS. | Facial | Negative_Nociceptive | In black mice, features like the cheek bulge suffer from poor optical detectability. Consequently, modern automated pipelines validate their modified models for this strain by explicitly excluding the cheek bulge and assessing other FAUs like orbital tightening. | [
"[@mccoy-2024; q='Nose bulge and cheek bulge action units were difficult to reliably detect and score on this three-point scale in black-coated mice']",
"[@mccoy-2024; q='we excluded this action unit from the scale. To calculate the MGS for a single black mouse image, the scores assigned to the four action units ... | Mice | Train |
farm_t1_mice_004 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Mouse (Mus musculus) | A male researcher stands directly in front of the cage to manually observe a mouse experiencing chronic trigeminal neuropathic pain (10 days post-CCI-ION surgery). | The mouse originally showed prominent orbital tightening and ear flattening on the camera feed, but upon the researcher's approach, it suddenly drops the pain expression and the ventral outline of its snout/upper lip appears entirely round and relaxed. | [
"Comprehensive Manual: Mouse Facial Expressions, Behavioral Postures & Automatic Pain Recognition"
] | [
"The presence of human males triggers stress-induced analgesia in rodents, artificially reducing facial grimace scores.",
"A rounded ventral snout/upper lip outline serves as an AI-identified feature of a relaxed facial state."
] | Facial grimace scores can be reliably recorded as increased in mice experiencing chronic pain states up to 10 days post-procedure when evaluated via remote video tracking. | Behavioral Context / Facial | Negative_Affective | While grimace scales are useful for chronic neuropathic pain, the sudden disappearance of the pain face is driven by the 'Male Observer Effect'. The presence of a male human induces rapid stress-mediated analgesia, concealing true expressions and rendering the snout mechanically relaxed. | [
"[@whittaker-2021; q='presence of human males led to a stress-induced analgesia and reduced grimace scores']",
"[@reimann-2026; q='If the snout/upper lip has a rather round shape, it seems to be relaxed']",
"[@akintola-2017; q='facial grimace scores are significantly increased, in both rats and mice, days as ea... | Mice | Train |
farm_t1_mice_005 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Mouse (Mus musculus) | Laboratory setting, black-coated C57BL/6 strain undergoing automated PainFace imaging under 1500 lux lighting. | Narrowing of the orbital area with an eye squeeze, back arching, and a rounded extension of skin visible on the bridge of the nose. Cheek bulge is obscured. | [
"Comprehensive Manual: Mouse Facial Expressions, Behavioral Postures & Automatic Pain Recognition"
] | [
"Orbital tightening is narrowing of the orbital area, with a tightly closed eyelid or an eye squeeze.",
"In black-coated mice, the cheek bulge action unit is completely excluded from modified automated scoring scales.",
"Composite pain postures naturally observed alongside facial grimacing include arching."
] | It is common for inexperienced human coders to overestimate pain in mice out of initial uncertainty. | Facial / Behavioral | Negative_Nociceptive | The subject displays distinct orbital tightening, a nose bulge, and composite pain postures (arching), strongly indicating acute pain. Because it is a black-coated C57BL/6 mouse, the absence or unscoreability of the cheek bulge is a known methodological variation and effectively handled by adapted automated systems. | [
"[@langford-2010; q=\"Orbital tightening is narrowing of the orbital area, with a tightly closed eyelid or an eye squeeze\"]",
"[@mccoy-2024; q=\"we excluded this action unit from the scale. To calculate the MGS for a single black mouse image, the scores assigned to the four action units are summed\"]",
"[@lang... | Mice | Train |
farm_t1_mice_006 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Mouse (Mus musculus) | Observation of a stationary mouse in its home cage during the light (inactive) phase. | Completely closed eyes, relaxed and flattened ears, curled body posture, lack of spontaneous movement. | [
"Comprehensive Manual: Mouse Facial Expressions, Behavioral Postures & Automatic Pain Recognition"
] | [
"Models and human observers have significant difficulty distinguishing between actual grimacing and the completely closed eyes of a sleeping mouse.",
"Faces associated with typical behaviors such as sleep or grooming overlap with pain features and should be excluded from coding pipelines."
] | The mere presence of a male human can induce stress analgesia, lowering grimace scores. | Facial / Contextual | Neutral_Resting | Although the closed eyes perfectly mimic severe orbital tightening mapped to high MGS scores, the contextual metadata (stationary posture during the inactive phase) confirms the mouse is asleep. This is a classic edge-case that generates false positives for both humans and CV algorithms. | [
"[@tuttle-2018; q=\"our model has difficulty distinguishing between images of sleeping and grimacing mice, much like human observers.\"]",
"[@mclennan-2019; q=\"states such as sleep, grooming and illness have some (but not all) facial features in common with pain... we advise that such photographs not be coded.\"... | Mice | Train |
farm_t1_mice_007 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Mouse (Mus musculus) | Laboratory observation 10 days post-CCI-ION procedure (a chronic trigeminal neuropathic pain model). | Ears pulled apart and back from their baseline, convex appearance of the cheek muscle, and whiskers tracking distinctly backward against the face. | [
"Comprehensive Manual: Mouse Facial Expressions, Behavioral Postures & Automatic Pain Recognition"
] | [
"Facial grimace scores remain reliably elevated even up to 10 days following a chronic neuropathic injury.",
"Changes in ear position include being pulled apart and pulled back, creating vertical ridges.",
"Whisker change involves an atypical movement of whiskers pulled backward directly against the face."
] | Circadian rhythm influences behavior, with higher postoperative pain presentation occurring naturally during the dark (active) phase. | Facial | Negative_Nociceptive | The mouse clearly presents multiple FAUs (ears pulled back, convex cheeks, backward whisker movement) despite being 10 days post-operatively. This invalidates old assumptions that rodents conceal pain chronically, confirming MGS efficacy in assessing ongoing neuropathic pain states. | [
"[@akintola-2017; q=\"facial grimace scores are significantly increased, in both rats and mice, days as early as 10 days after CCI-ION\"]",
"[@langford-2010; q=\"Ear position refers to ears pulled apart and back from their baseline position or featuring vertical ridges that form owing to tips of ears being drawn ... | Mice | Train |
farm_t1_mice_008 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Mouse (Mus musculus) | Self-supervised Computer Vision model evaluation of an unhandled outbred mouse. | Engaged in active, structured nest building; AI maps a clearly relaxed, round shape to the ventral outline of the snout and upper lip. | [
"Comprehensive Manual: Mouse Facial Expressions, Behavioral Postures & Automatic Pain Recognition"
] | [
"A novel facial characteristic identified by AI for unstressed mice is a distinctly round shape to the ventral outline of the snout/upper lip.",
"The display of luxury behaviors such as nest building confirms that physiological needs are being perfectly met and welfare is high."
] | General anesthesia can inherently alter facial muscle tone via pharmacological mechanisms, falsely inflating MGS scores during the immediate post-surgical window. | Facial / Behavioral | Positive_Welfare | The mouse exhibits unprompted luxury behaviors (nest building), a high-reliability indicator of positive welfare. This is further supported by the novel CV-detected relaxed facial feature (rounded ventral snout), definitively demonstrating a stress-free and pain-free state. | [
"[@reimann-2026; q=\"A novel facial feature identified by the visualization was the ventral outline of the snout/upper lip (Fig. 1f). If the snout/upper lip has a rather round shape, it seems to be relaxed\"]",
"[@hohlbaum-2018; q=\"animals display luxury behaviors like burrowing and nest building behavior only w... | Mice | Train |
farm_t1_octopus_003 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Wild Octopus (Octopus insularis) | Natural reef habitat, octopus is awake during the day, with a territorial fish swimming aggressively nearby. | The octopus abruptly displays an asymmetric body pattern, featuring a smooth texture with white circles on a brown background on one half of its body, and a mottled pattern on the other half. | [
"Octopus Pain, Discomfort, and Welfare Assessment Manual"
] | [
"The asymmetric half-and-half blotch body pattern is expressed in wild octopuses as a startle reaction in response to territorial fish or threats."
] | Residual lingering effects of sedative drugs, or normal mammalian sleep architectures, can mimic abnormal resting postures. | Visual / Chromatophore Pattern | Negative_Affective | The asymmetric half-and-half blotch is a wild-specific, unique indicator of decreased welfare and acute startle response to a territorial threat, distinct from standard captive welfare metrics. | [
"[@andrade-2023; q=\"We identified two previously unknown measures associated with decreased welfare: (1) a half white eye flash and (2) a half-and-half blotch body pattern... The asymmetric behavior that we call half-and-half blotch was expressed in response to territorial fish, which also elicited startle reactio... | Octopus | Train |
farm_t1_octopus_004 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Octopus | Veterinary evaluation tank post-trauma (accidental arm crush). | The octopus immediately holds the crushed arm stump in its beak and actively curls its adjacent, uninjured arms tightly around the injured site to conceal it. | [
"Octopus Pain, Discomfort, and Welfare Assessment Manual"
] | [
"Octopuses sustaining injury will hold the wounded site in their beak and use adjacent arms to actively guard and protect the injury."
] | Automated false positives for distress can naturally occur due to bouts of aggression or normal sleep postures. | Postural / Behavioral | Negative_Nociceptive | This highly specific postural behavior represents wound guarding and concealment, demonstrating acute localized pain. Proper observation requires a holistic, whole-body analysis connecting the beak, injured arm, and adjacent arms rather than isolated parts-based tracking. | [
"[@schnell-2026; q=\"injured octopuses (arm crush injury) immediately held the arm stump or wound site in their beak... Three of the five injured subjects used adjacent arms to guard their injury\"]",
"[@chiavaccini-2024; q=\"The pipeline can encompass multiple steps and may analyze the entire body or face or foc... | Octopus | Train |
farm_t1_octopus_006 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Wild Octopus (Octopus insularis) | Field observation in a natural reef environment, closely approached by a human snorkeler. | The octopus displays a starkly asymmetrical body pattern: half of the body is smooth with white circles on a brown background, while the other half is mottled. Additionally, the lower half of its iris flashes a stark pale white color continuously. | [
"Octopus Pain, Discomfort, and Welfare Assessment Manual"
] | [
"The asymmetric 'half-and-half blotch' body pattern is a startle reaction expressed in response to perceived territorial threats.",
"The 'half white eye flash', where the lower iris area flashes distinctly pale, is an acute stress response to an approaching threat like a snorkeler or predator."
] | The half-and-half asymmetrical body pattern is historically associated with sleep phases, meaning an observation could be falsely positive for stress if context is ignored. | Chromatophore / Ocular Expressive | Positive_Welfare | The combination of the half-and-half blotch pattern and the lower-half white eye flash represents two wild-specific visual markers of acute stress and startle. These cues confirm the animal is reacting defensively to the approaching human. | [
"[@andrade-2023; q=\"We identified two previously unknown measures associated with decreased welfare: (1) a half white eye flash and (2) a half-and-half blotch body pattern... The asymmetric behavior that we call half-and-half blotch was expressed in response to territorial fish, which also elicited startle reactio... | Octopus | Train |
farm_t1_octopus_008 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Common Octopus (Octopus vulgaris) | Computer Vision (CV) automated welfare monitoring, 2 hours post-surgery in a designated recovery tank. | The CV system flags the animal for uncoordinated body movements, periods of transient skin pallor, and highly unusual resting postures. No localized skin removal or biting is recorded. | [
"Octopus Pain, Discomfort, and Welfare Assessment Manual"
] | [
"False positive pain identifications can occur due to the lingering effects of sedation and anesthesia.",
"Altered expression and lack of coordination can persist for several hours post-anesthesia in multiple species, mimicking active pain."
] | Uncoordinated body movements and transient pallor are conventionally mapped to a 'Mild/Acute' Score 2 on standard welfare matrices, which usually indicates genuine acute stress. | Spatiotemporal / Postural | False_Positive_Physiological | The immediate post-surgical timeline strongly suggests the uncoordinated movements and transient pallor are artifacts of residual sedation rather than immediate, localized nociceptive pain. This acts as a known edge-case false positive for automated systems. | [
"[@cohen-2020; q=\"False positives are known to occur in a small range of scenarios such as sedation/anaesthesia, sleeping status, or during bouts of aggression\"]",
"[@chiavaccini-2024; q=\"the facial expression of pain can remain altered for several hours after inhalant anesthesia... This effect likely holds fo... | Octopus | Train |
farm_t1_pig_001 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Sus scrofa domesticus (Piglet) | A young piglet is being physically restrained by a stockperson so its front profile can be captured for a facial expression photograph. | Pronounced orbital tightening with eyes heavily squeezed shut; ears held back. Active squirming. | [
"Swine/Piglet Automatic Pain Recognition & Grimace Scale Manual"
] | [
"Restraint stress induces extreme orbital tightening in piglets that is visually indistinguishable from orbital tightening caused by physical nociception."
] | Orbital tightening is the most reliable and evolutionarily conserved facial action unit for indicating physical pain across species. | Facial / Behavioral | Negative_Affective | Although the piglet displays maxed-out orbital tightening (a classic pain marker), physical restraint acts as a massive confounder. Stress and fear from unacclimated handling trigger identical Grimace Scale responses, leading to false pain positives. Automated systems dictate that subjects must be freely moving or unha... | [
"[@di-giminiani-2016; q='restraint of the piglet while images were taken is likely to have induced even greater stress']"
] | Pig | Train |
farm_t1_pig_002 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Sus scrofa domesticus (Adult Sow) | An adult female sow in a farrowing crate resting shortly after a complicated, invasive veterinary procedure. | The sow's eyes are completely wide open with the white ocular sclera highly visible. Minimal ear movement observed. | [
"Swine/Piglet Automatic Pain Recognition & Grimace Scale Manual"
] | [
"In adult sows, severe pain manifests conversely to piglets, presenting as completely open eyes with the ocular sclera visible.",
"Ear position loses reliability as pigs grow due to increased fat and muscle decreasing auricular mobility."
] | In piglets, physical pain is characterized by orbital tightening where eyes are partially or completely tightly closed. | Facial | Negative_Nociceptive | A life-stage paradox applies here. While neonatal and young pigs show pain by squeezing their eyes shut, adult sows experiencing severe pain exhibit widened eyes with visible sclera. The CV/LLM evaluator must weigh the age variable over the generalized piglet orbital tightening rule. | [
"[@mota-rojas-2025; q='in sows, eyes completely open with the ocular sclera visible is an indication of severe pain (2 points)']",
"[@viscardi-2017; q='piglets, eyes completely or partially closed and fully tightened are considered indicative of pain']",
"[@vullo-2020; q='muscles pertaining to the scutiform car... | Pig | Train |
farm_t1_pig_003 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Sus scrofa domesticus (Growing Pigs) | A pen of intact, uninjured growing pigs during a cold winter evening with a broken barn heater resulting in low ambient temperatures. | The entire group of pigs has ceased locomotion, and all are lying closely touching one another in sternal recumbency. Tails are not visibly tucked. | [
"Swine/Piglet Automatic Pain Recognition & Grimace Scale Manual"
] | [
"Lying in sternal positions and demonstrating intense social huddling are primarily thermoregulatory adaptations deployed in cold environments."
] | An increase in sternal recumbency rather than lateral recumbency, combined with decreased activity, is a recognized marker of surgical pain used to guard painful areas. | Postural / Behavioral | Neutral_Resting | While sternal recumbency and huddling are behavioral items evaluated on composite pain scales (to guard painful incisions), they are also the primary defense mechanism against cold. The lack of tucked tails or preceding painful events strongly emphasizes that this is an environmental thermoregulatory response, preventi... | [
"[@vullo-2020; q='Another possible reason for lying in contact with conspecifics could be thermoregulation; it has been reported that lying behavior is an important thermoregulatory mechanism in pigs. When the temperature lowers, pigs adapt their behavior by huddling and lying down']",
"[@vullo-2020; q='increase ... | Pig | Train |
farm_t1_pig_004 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Sus scrofa domesticus (Neonatal Piglet) | A newly born piglet (less than 12 hours old) resting quietly alongside littermates inside a warm farrowing area. | Pronounced facial wrinkling creating deep skin folds above the snout and apparent tension indentations around the cheeks. Ears are visibly wet. | [
"Swine/Piglet Automatic Pain Recognition & Grimace Scale Manual"
] | [
"Piglets younger than 24 hours naturally display wet ears and excessive baseline facial wrinkling that visually mimics pain-induced cheek tightening and snout bulging."
] | The appearance of skin folds above the snout and visible tension in the cheeks defines 'Cheek Tightening / Nose Bulge' in the Piglet Grimace Scale-B. | Facial | Neutral_Resting | The subject displays excessive wrinkling over the snout and cheeks, which perfectly maps to the criteria for 'Nose Bulge' and 'Cheek Tightening'. However, baseline neonatal physiology features heavy wrinkling that settles after day 1. Diagnosing pain merely on these wrinkles in a piglet < 24 hours old results in a comp... | [
"[@lou-2022; q='newly born pigs have wet ears and excessive face wrinkling that would otherwise settle with time']",
"[@viscardi-2017; q='nose bulge refers to several skin folds above the snout']"
] | Pig | Train |
farm_t1_pig_005 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Sus scrofa domesticus (Piglet, <24 hours old) | Neonatal farrowing pen, unhandled, standard ambient temperature. | Wet ears folded over, excessive wrinkling across the face, snout appears slightly bulging with skin folds. Eyes remain wide open and relaxed. | [
"Swine/Piglet Automatic Pain Recognition & Grimace Scale Manual"
] | [
"Neonatal piglets less than 24 hours old naturally exhibit excessive face wrinkling and wet ears, which can trigger false positives for facial tension or nose bulge."
] | Visible skin folds above the snout (nose bulge) are a core scored indicator of pain in the Viscardi (PGS-B) grimace scale. | Facial | Neutral_Resting | Despite the presence of excessive face wrinkling and perceived bulge on the snout, these are normal anatomical features of neonates in their first 24 hours. The eyes are wide open, ruling out the most reliable pain indicator: orbital tightening. This is a baseline state confounded by neonatal morphology. | [
"[@lou-2022; q=\"newly born pigs have wet ears and excessive face wrinkling that would otherwise settle with time\"]",
"[@viscardi-2017; q=\"nose bulge refers to several skin folds above the snout\"]"
] | Pig | Train |
farm_t1_pig_006 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Sus scrofa domesticus (Adult Sow) | Post-farrowing, lying independently in a farrowing crate. | Eyes completely wide open with the ocular sclera (white of the eye) highly visible. Visible tension above the eyes and neck. | [
"Swine/Piglet Automatic Pain Recognition & Grimace Scale Manual"
] | [
"In adult sows, severe pain manifests as completely open eyes with prominently visible sclera, representing a life-stage reversal compared to piglets."
] | In piglets, eyes completely or partially closed (orbital tightening) are considered the most reliable indicator of pain. | Facial | Negative_Nociceptive | While pain in piglets drives orbital tightening (eyes closed or squeezed), this manifestation reverses in adult sows. An adult sow presenting with eyes wide open and visible sclera is expressing a severe pain phenotype, as identified by the Sow Facial Expression Scale (SFES). | [
"[@mota-rojas-2025; q=\"in sows, eyes completely open with the ocular sclera visible is an indication of severe pain (2 points)\"]",
"[@viscardi-2017; q=\"piglets, eyes completely or partially closed and fully tightened are considered indicative of pain\"]"
] | Pig | Train |
farm_t1_pig_007 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Sus scrofa domesticus (Piglet, 3 weeks old) | Handling procedure; physically restrained by a stockperson for routine veterinary inspection (no painful stimulus introduced yet). | Extreme orbital tightening (eyes tightly squeezed shut), active escape attempts, hyper-vigilance. | [
"Swine/Piglet Automatic Pain Recognition & Grimace Scale Manual"
] | [
"Physical restraint and fear induce high levels of stress, which can trigger facial action units identical to pain, especially orbital tightening, rendering grimace scores indistinguishable from actual pain if handled."
] | Orbital tightening is evolutionarily conserved and considered the most reliable indicator of acute nociception and pain across species. | Facial / Behavioral | Negative_Affective | The piglet is displaying prominent orbital tightening, which is typically a pain indicator. However, because the animal is actively restrained, the facial expression is heavily confounded by fear and handling stress. This stress mimics the grimace pattern, maxing out the FAU scores in the absence of a localized noxious... | [
"[@di-giminiani-2016; q=\"restraint of the piglet while images were taken is likely to have induced even greater stress\"]",
"[@viscardi-2017; q=\"orbital tightening is scored on a 2-point scale (0 = not present; 1 = present)\"]"
] | Pig | Train |
farm_t1_pig_008 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Sus scrofa domesticus (Growing Pig) | Enriched group pen with deep straw bedding, thermoneutral environment. | Pigs engage in synchronous foraging and play behavior. Short low-frequency (LF) grunts are frequently emitted. | [
"Swine/Piglet Automatic Pain Recognition & Grimace Scale Manual"
] | [
"Calls produced in positive affective contexts are shorter in duration and exhibit fewer amplitude modulations compared to negative calls."
] | Pitch frequency, maximum amplitude, and acoustic intensity generally increase linearly to encode high arousal states like pain. | Vocal / Behavioral | Positive_Welfare | The synchronous play and foraging behaviors immediately denote an enriched, non-painful status. Vocally, their short calls with minimal amplitude modulation definitively confirm positive valence and welfare, sharply contrasting with the longer, highly modulated, and intense acoustic structures of distress or pain. | [
"[@briefer-2022; q=\"positive calls, whether they are LF or HF, are shorter and contain less amplitude modulations than negative calls\"]",
"[@cordeiro-2018; q=\"Pitch frequency, maximum amplitude, and intensity presented similar behavior, tending to increase successively from pain-free to marking, and after tail... | Pig | Train |
farm_t1_rabbit_001 | Tier_1_Exhaustive | Rabbit | On-site veterinary clinic post-orthopedic surgery. | The rabbit exhibits a nose that is drawn vertically into a sharply pointed V-shape. The cheek region has lost its roundness and appears flattened. Whiskers are stiff and pulled horizontally against the face. | [
"Rabbit Pain Assessment & Grimace Scale Manual"
] | [
"The rabbit's cheek and nose bulge progressively flattens and becomes pointed as pain intensity increases."
] | The rabbit's eyes are mostly open, which an untrained observer might misinterpret as an alert, pain-free state despite severe changes in the cheek and nose FAUs. | Facial | Negative_Nociceptive | The sharp V-shaped nares and flattened cheeks are hallmark scores of Moderate to Severe Pain (Score 2) according to the RbtGS, indicating acute somatic pain overriding any baseline resting state. | [
"[@keating-2012; q='rabbits display a cheek and nose bulge at rest, which become progressively pointed or flattened as the intensity of pain increases']"
] | Rabbit | Train |
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