Cattle Castration Controversy

As I've mentioned before, I'm an Animal Science double major, which means I get hands-on experience doing all sorts of awesome animal raising and handling procedures, and I get to learn why we use these methods. A lot of what this blog is about comes straight from my lecture notes, so I can't really link to them. All of the pictures shown here are of me castrating in my lab class; they're up to demonstrate the proper method of surgical castration we use.

Lots of animal rights groups have a heck of a lot of issues with castration in the first place. Why? Mostly because the majority of cattle operations castrate in the first place (PETA refers to it as mutilation), and also because the preferred methods are done without anesthetics. These groups usually take one or two facilities who do not follow USDA guidelines and put up marketing campaigns against them. Thus, the press (of which I am also a part, as an Ag Com major as well) generally grabs hold of PETA's stories instead of taking account for the rest of the industry.

Why castrate? The simple reason is that generally most farms do not play God and genetically engineer the sex of their calves. So, if you've got a few testosterone-filled bulls running around in a pasture with some heifers/cows (females), you'll probably end up with some unwanted pregnancies. In large operations where most females are bred to calve at the same time, having babies born year round due to unintentional insemination is bad, bad news. It's horrible to have calves born in the colder months of the year when the farm is not prepared for it (usually cows and heifers that are close to calving are kept together in pastures closer to the farmhouse so the farmer can check on them easier). Plus, cattle are herd animals, so if you've got just one pregnant female in that close pasture, you've got trouble. They don't like to be alone any more than you or I.

Animal rights groups have an answer for that, too--keep your bulls in a separate pasture! Wow, smart move--since they're against dehorning (we'll talk about that in a later post), that is just asking for aggression, fighting, injury, and danger for both animal and handler. That's the more complicated reason for castration--the behavior and meat part. Steers (castrated males) have less testosterone, so they are less aggressive and easier to handle. They also grow better and at a faster rate than bulls would when fed the same diet.

Castration should be done when the calf is as young as possible, preferably 2-3 months. This makes sure that there is the least amount of pain possible. Of course, there is going to be some pain, but the current research has shown no benefits to using anesthetics and painkillers like Lidocaine, because they are injected into the spermatic cord which is being removed. So, as soon as the cord is gone, pain again. When you're castrating older calves though (against the USDA research), you probably should go ahead and use the Lidocaine, because more pain and stress have been documented the older the calf is. There are three main methods--surgical, emasculatome, and banding.

Banding is also done on young male lambs (for both castration and tail docking), and it should only be done on the youngest of calves. There is a special tool called the elastrator that stretches the band out. It must be placed around the scrotum as close to the body as possible, prongs against the skin, before it is released. Once the band is in place, it is gently rolled off the prongs. Banding basically cuts off circulation, and the testicles fall off after a couple of weeks. It sounds weird, but it's a lot like cutting the umbilical cord in infants. The reason why banding should only be done to young calves is because it's very easy to be inefficient--as in, it's really easy for the spermatic cord to not lose circulation, and for sperm to still be produced.

The preferred European method of castration uses the emasculatome, which is a way to crush the spermatic cord. We did not do this in my class, but we were shown how to use the tool. It also in essence cuts of circulation to the testes, but instead of making them fall off, the testes dry up and the scrotum recedes. My professor said it could be inefficient if the cords were not properly crushed. Since my class was mostly novice castrators, we would probably have been VERY inefficient at using the emasculatome!

Now we get to surgical castration, which was what my class used. It's the most common method in the US because it is the most effective and efficient--you're positive you got the testicles and spermatic cord removed. You can either use a Newberry knife or a scalpel (we used the scalpel). The process is fairly simple. Situate the calf in the chute--his head should be haltered and held, and his tail should be held straight up--and situate yourself so that you're not going to get kicked in your face. Feel around to make sure both testicles are there and have fully dropped. Hold the scrotum between your thumb and fist (make a fist with your thumb on the outside), and remove the portion of the scrotum that is right above your thumb with the scalpel. Throw the scrotum outside the chute and grab hold of one testicle and pull it straight down. When the spermatic cord appears, weave it between your fingers and keep pulling. The cord literally rips off, and the scalpel should be used to jagged cut the remainder off. This type of cut makes for a faster healing rate.