Pain reduces an animal’s quality of life (QoL), is a welfare concern (Belshaw Z, Yeates J. Vet J 239:59–64, 2018; Muir WW. Equine Vet J 45:653–655, 2013) and in many circumstances, alleviating pain in farmed animals is an important element in improving their welfare. Effective pain mitigation in any farmed species begins with an appreciation of their capacity to feel pain and to suffer and then, an ability to recognise species-specific pain signs. Being unable to verbally communicate means animals predominantly demonstrate their pain experiences to observers through altered behaviour, and only under biologically appropriate conditions. Consequently, many pain behaviours may be subtle rather than ostentatious. Conscientious caregivers, i.e. owners, paid stockpersons and veterinarians, must be able to recognise these behavioural indicators of pain. The communication of pain and suffering to human observers may elicit emotional and caring responses (Hadjistavropoulos T, Craig KD, Duck S, Cano A, Goubert L, Jackson PL, Mogil JS, Rainville P, Sullivan MJL, Williams ACDC, Vervoort, Fitzgerald. Psychol Bull 137:910–939, 2011), but how humans contextualise animal pain will be influenced by numerous factors, including their broader attitudes to animals, personal experiences and attitudes to pain in general. Internal biases and attitudes towards pain may influence how a caregiver responds to observing a farm animal in pain. Caregivers with more negative or less useful attitudes towards pain in farm animals may not be motivated to alleviate pain and suffering. In these caregivers, it is important to understand how caregiver attitudes can be influenced to support positive changes in behaviour and subsequent improvements in farm animal welfare. To elucidate the processes whereby observer bias may arise and the influence of caregiver attitude on treatment of pain in farm animals, this chapter will consider: (1) What are attitudes? (2) Animal characteristics which influence attitude to pain in farm animals; (3) Caregiver characteristics that influence attitude to pain in farm animals.