A rapid method for devocalizing goats

Goats were devocalized electrosurgically through the oral cavity. Special methods were necessary due to the small size of the caprine vocal folds and their distance from the commissures of the mouth. The vocal folds were difficult to visualize and beyond the reach of the instruments usually used for ventriculochordectomy in dogs. The use of a specially designed ovine laryngoscope blade and a 38-cm electrode made it possible to devocalize goats under ketamine-xylazine anesthesia quickly and noninvasively. No tissue was removed. The electrode was placed over the vocal folds, and the current was applied briefly. Animals so treated have not been observed to recover their voices after 4 to 18 months of observation postsurgically.