Reduction in pain suffered by lambs at castration

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Science
• Animal Welfare
• Pain Management

Background:

• Bloodless castration is a common procedure in livestock.
• Assessing pain associated with castration methods is crucial for animal welfare.
• Different castration tools and adjunct pain relief strategies require comparative evaluation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the acute pain responses of lambs subjected to three different bloodless castration methods.
• To evaluate the efficacy of local anesthesia and a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug in mitigating castration pain.

Main Methods:

• Three-week-old Dorset cross lambs (n=8 per group) underwent castration using a Burdizzo, a powered castrator, or a combined Burdizzo-elastrator method.
• Behavioral observations and plasma cortisol levels were measured to assess pain.
• Intratesticular local anesthetic or intramuscular diclofenac was administered prior to castration in separate trials.

Main Results:

• All three castration methods induced similar peak plasma cortisol responses and time spent in abnormal postures.
• The Burdizzo method resulted in fewer active behaviors compared to the powered castrator and combined methods.
• Both local anesthetic and diclofenac significantly reduced peak plasma cortisol levels.
• Diclofenac also decreased trembling and abnormal postures.

Conclusions:

• While castration methods show some behavioral differences, pain management is critical.
• Intratesticular local anesthetic and systemic diclofenac are effective in reducing acute pain responses during lamb castration.
• These findings support the implementation of multimodal pain relief in livestock castration procedures.