Castration in pet animals
Castration is the removal or inactivation of the testicles of a male animal. Castration is a common management tool in the beef cattle sector for many reasons, including to: Stop the production of male hormones.
Castration
Castration is the removal or inactivation of the testicles of a male animal. Castration is a common management tool in the beef cattle sector for many reasons, including to:
- Stop the production of male hormones
- Prevent unplanned mating
- Decrease aggression to enhance on-farm safety for handlers and animals
- Obtain price premiums and/or avoid price discounts from feedlots and meat packers
- Produce meat with a consistent quality acceptable to consumers (i.e. higher grade, better marbling)
- Decrease costs of managing bulls (i.e. larger, stronger facilities)
Key Points
Perform castration when the animal is as young as possible, ideally soon after birth.
Pain mitigation must be used when castrating bulls older than six months of age.
Castration must be performed by an experienced person using proper, clean, well-maintained equipment and accepted techniques.
Avoid castration during weaning or other stressful events.
Castration can be accomplished using surgery (i.e. “knife-cut”), or by restricting bloodflow to the testes by using a banding tool called an elastrator. Although less common, a specialized clamp called a Burdizzo may also be used to crush the testicular cord and associated tissues.
Castration is a common practice, however there may be risks, including pain, swelling, bleeding, and infection. Reduce risks by using proper techniques, clean tools, adhering to a proper vaccination protocol, and castrating animals when they are young.
Pain medication, such as anesthetics and analgesics, is effective at reducing pain and improving welfare. A number of different pain-control products are commercially available. Producers are using pain medication for castration, in consultation with their veterinarians, more than ever before.
Castration may be accomplished by physical, chemical or hormonal techniques. Physical methods are most common. Testicles may be removed surgically or killed by obstructing the blood supply. Young calves may be castrated with rubber rings, Burdizzo or by surgery.
Medical benefits: Castration eliminates the possibility of testicular cancer and greatly reduces the chance of prostate disease, two extremely common and serious problems of older male dogs.
Many older dogs that are not neutered will develop prostate disease or testicular tumors if they survive to an old enough age.
Male sheep, cattle, goats and pigs are routinely castrated in order to reduce aggression and subsequent injury. Methods of castration are either by blade or rubber ring.
At present, castration is carried out as a routine husbandry procedure on young animals without the use of anesthetic or pain relief.
How does castration affect animals?
Castration reduces aggressiveness and sexual activity by lowering testosterone levels, and modifies carcass characteristics by decreasing the number of animals with a high muscle pH (“dark cutters”). Intact male cattle (bulls) tend to produce lower quality grade, less consistent, less marbled, and less tender meat.
What are the advantages of castration in animal?
( 1) Castration reduces male aggression and thereby makes males easier to handle.
(2) There is a risk of unwanted matings if there are uncastrated males on the farm, other than those required for breeding.