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Castration with anaesthesia and analgesia

Castration itself is performed as castration without anaesthesia. Pain can be relieved by a pharmacological treatment, normally injecting local anaesthetic subcutaneously in the testes or in the scrotum. Alternatively, or in addition, an anti-inflammatory drug can be injected intramuscularly. General anaesthesia, using carbon dioxide or isoflurane, is also possible.

Advantages and Disadvantages compared to surgical castration without anaesthesia:

1

Compared to surgical castration without anaesthesia, what do you expect the advantages and disadvantages of castration with anaesthesia and analgesia to be?
For each of the factors below, indicate whether you think that the technique will bring an advantage, a disadvantage or will have a neutral impact, choosing from the pull-down list.

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)

Yes all your choices are correct.

  1. Pain, stress and health consequences = Advantage because the anaesthesia and analgesia reduce the pain of the procedure.
  2. Incidence of boar taint appearing in meat products = Neutral. When considering the boar taint, the results of the surgical castration (performed with or without anaesthesia and with or without analgesia) are the same.
  3. Cost of feeding = Neutral. When considering cost of feeding, the results of the surgical castration (performed with or without anaesthesia and with or without analgesia) are the same.
  4. Levels of aggression and mounting behaviour in the herd, and ease of management = Neutral. When considering the behaviour, the results of the surgical castration (performed with or without anaesthesia and with or without analgesia) are the same.
  5. Need for slaughter line system to detect boar taint = Neutral. In both cases the boar taint is avoided and no classification of the carcasses is needed.
  6. How practical the technique is for use at farm level =Disadvantage because the castration with anaesthesia and analgesia implies extra practices.
  7. Other production costs excluding feeding = Disadvantage because applying a treatment to relieve pain has an economic cost that adds to production costs.
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In Norway, castration without anaesthesia is prohibited by law, and until a total ban on castration is implemented all castrations must be performed by veterinarians using anaesthesia.