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1.
D. Flannery B.Sc. 《New Zealand veterinary journal》2013,61(4):134-135
Lambs at 4–5 weeks of age were studied during the first 4 hours after castration and/or tailing using three methods in various commonly used combinations. The methods were cutting with a knife, application of constricting rubber rings and using a heated docking iron (tailing only). The integrated cortisol response (area under the cortisol curve) was determined for each lamb during the first 4 hours after treatment and was considered to reflect the overall magnitude of the lamb's acute distress response. On that basis, cut lambs (tailing only, castration only, castration plus tailing) experienced more distress than any other groups. Also the distress response (indicated by elevated plasma cortisol concentrations) lasted longer than 4 hours in cut lambs, unlike all other groups. The use of rings apparently caused similar distress when lambs were castrated only, were castrated plus tailed, or were short-scrotumed (testes pressed against the abdominal wall by a distally located scrotal ring) plus tailed. The magnitudes of distress apparently caused by tailing alone with a ring or a docking iron were similar and were lower than the distress caused by any other castration and/or tailing procedure. It is concluded that acute distress responses to these husbandry procedures would be minimised in lambs of this age if rings and/or a docking iron were used in preference to a knife. 相似文献
2.
Lambs at 4-5 weeks of age were studied during the first 4 hours after castration and/or tailing using three methods in various commonly used combinations. The methods were cutting with a knife, application of constricting rubber rings and using a heated docking iron (tailing only). The integrated cortisol response (area under the cortisol curve) was determined for each lamb during the first 4 hours after treatment and was considered to reflect the overall magnitude of the lamb's acute distress response. On that basis, cut lambs (tailing only, castration only, castration plus tailing) experienced more distress than any other groups. Also the distress response (indicated by elevated plasma cortisol concentrations) lasted longer than 4 hours in cut lambs, unlike all other groups. The use of rings apparently caused similar distress when lambs were castrated only, were castrated plus tailed, or were short-scrotumed (testes pressed against the abdominal wall by a distally located scrotal ring) plus tailed. The magnitudes of distress apparently caused by tailing alone with a ring or a docking iron were similar and were lower than the distress caused by any other castration and/or tailing procedure. It is concluded that acute distress responses to these husbandry procedures would be minimised in lambs of this age if rings and/or a docking iron were used in preference to a knife. 相似文献
3.
Sutherland MA Stafford KJ Mellor DJ Gregory NG Bruce RA Ward RN 《Australian veterinary journal》2000,78(6):402-405
OBJECTIVE: To test whether the cortisol response to ring castration plus docking is reduced by additional application of a castration clamp across the full width of the scrotum distal to the ring. DESIGN: A physiological study with controls. PROCEDURE: Lambs, 3 to 6 weeks of age, were castrated using a ring or ring plus castration clamp applied for 6 or 10 s and docked using a ring. Blood samples were taken before and regularly for about 4 h after treatment and analysed for plasma cortisol concentrations. The healing of the scrotal wounds was monitored for 6 weeks after castration. RESULTS: The plasma cortisol concentrations were lower only at 60 min after treatment in lambs castrated with a clamp placed on the scrotum for 10 s after ring castration and docking than in lambs castrated and docked by ring alone. Scrotal wounds healed more quickly after ring plus clamp than after ring only castration. CONCLUSIONS: The castration clamp had at most a marginal effect on the cortisol response to ring castration and docking of 3- to 6-week-old lambs, but it did seem to improve the rate of healing. 相似文献
4.
Lambs at 4-5 weeks of age were studied during the first 4 hours after castration and/or tailing using three methods in various commonly used combinations. The methods were: cutting with a knife, application of constricting rubber rings and using a heated docking iron (tailing only). Behaviour was monitored by quantifying the incidences of restlessness (during the first hour only), normal and abnormal standing/walking, and normal and abnormal lying. Plasma cortisol concentrations were also measured in samples taken at intervals during the 4 hours after treatment. With the knife, abnormal standing/walking predominated throughout the fist 4 hours and beyond, and restlessness was virtually absent. Plasma cortisol concentrations in knife-treated lambs remained above pretreatment values for at least 4 hours. With rings, high restlessness was invariably present during the first 30-45 minutes, and much of the associated standing/walking and lying was abnormal, but all behaviours had returned to control values within 4 hours of treatment, as had the plasma cortisol concentrations. There were no correlations between the incidences of abnormal behaviours and the plasma cortisol concentrations during the first 4 hour after any treatment, except that when abnormal behaviour was present the cortisol concentrations were greater than pretreatment values, and vice versa. Thus, the presence/absence of the abnormal behaviours reported here allowed an assessment of the duration of distress after castration and/or tailing. However, as the behavioural responses to castration and/or tailing were broadly procedure-specific, so that the responses to the knife and rings were not apparently part of the one behavioural continuum, it is argued that the relative intensities of distress caused by the two procedures cannot be assessed from behaviour alone. Rather, reference must also be made to established physiological indices of distress such as plasma cortisol concentration. On that basis, the knife treatments apparently caused greater and more protracted distress responses than did the ring or docking iron treatments, and should therefore be avoided. However, ring-treated lambs, especially those castrated or castrated and tailed apparently experienced distress, so that more benign alternatives to the use of rings should also be sought. 相似文献
5.
Effects of tail docking and castration on behaviour and plasma cortisol concentrations in young lambs 总被引:3,自引:0,他引:3
Behavioural and cortisol responses of lambs to the usual husbandry practices of castration and, or, tail docking using tight rubber rings were investigated between birth and seven days old. There were four treatments: control handling and blood sampling (n = 52), tail-docking (T) (n = 57), castration plus tail-docking (CT) (n = 54) and intravenous adrenocorticotrophin injection (ACTH) (n = 52). After treatment there was a transient rise in plasma cortisol concentration, the magnitude and duration of which increased in the following order; control, T, CT and ACTH. Behavioural characteristics indicative of distress included restlessness (standing up and lying down frequently, rolling, kicking, stamping), lateral recumbency, immobility with neck extension and hyperventilation. Using changes in cortisol concentrations and behaviour the lamb responses were characterised as reflecting 'mild disturbance without distress' (control, ACTH), 'mild distress' (T) and 'marked distress' (CT). The mild distress lasted for about 30 minutes in T lambs and marked distress for about 60 minutes in CT lambs. 相似文献
6.
G N Wood V Molony S M Fleetwood-Walker J C Hodgson D J Mellor 《Research in veterinary science》1991,51(2):193-199
The reliability of some behavioral and physiological indices used for the recognition and assessment of acute pain in lambs after castration and tail docking has been examined. Changes in the indices were measured after blocking neural activity with local anaesthetic (lignocaine) and after an opioid antagonist (naloxone) was administered. Six lambs, aged less than one week, were allocated randomly to each of six treatments. (i) control handling and blood sampling; (ii) castration plus tail docking with tight rubber rings; (iii) local anaesthesia; (iv) local anaesthesia followed by castration and tail docking; (v) intravenous naloxone only (0.2 mg kg-1); and (vi) intravenous naloxone followed by castration and tail docking. Local anaesthesia eliminated the behavioural and plasma cortisol changes which usually follow castration and tail docking. Naloxone had a limited effect on the increase in cortisol but altered the behaviour. The results support the view that such indices are useful for assessment of the response to acute pain and that, although endogenous opioids do reduce pain in young lambs after castration and tail docking, the effect is small. 相似文献
7.
Melches S Mellema SC Doherr MG Wechsler B Steiner A 《Veterinary journal (London, England : 1997)》2007,173(3):554-563
Seventy male lambs over 10 weeks of age were castrated using Burdizzo, rubber rings, or surgery to assess the acute and long-term effects of castration. All castrations were performed under local anaesthesia. The surgically castrated lambs were additionally sedated with xylazine and the sedation reversed with tolazoline. The frequency of abnormal postures and immediate behavioural responses indicated that surgically castrated lambs were most distressed; the lambs castrated using Burdizzo and rubber rings were not dissimilar to those of the control group. Between 1.5 and 9 h after castration, signs of pain and distress were at a lower level in lambs anaesthetised with bupivacaine compared with those treated with lidocaine. Due to the markedly faster wound healing, Burdizzo castration seemed to be preferable (fewer signs of long-term pain) when compared to the rubber ring technique. It was concluded that local anaesthesia with bupivacaine, followed by the Burdizzo method is the preferable technique for the castration of lambs older than 10 weeks of age. 相似文献
8.
Behavioural and cortisol responses to the husbandry practice of castration with tight rubber rings were investigated in lambs and kids one day after birth and in hand reared calves aged one to seven days. There were three treatments: control handling and blood sampling, castration and, in lambs and kids only, intravenous adrenocorticotrophin injection (ACTH). The integrated cortisol responses (area under the cortisol curve) in lambs and kids were least in control, intermediate in castrated and greatest in ACTH animals. No cortisol responses were detected in control or castrated calves. The incidences of behaviour used to assess the intensity of distress apparently experienced in the different species corresponded generally with the magnitudes of the cortisol responses. Behavioural and cortisol responses together suggested that the distress caused by castration was greatest in lambs, intermediate in kids and least but not necessarily absent in hand reared calves. 相似文献
9.
Objective To measure the plasma cortisol response in lambs castrated and docked by three different methods (ring castration and tail docking, ring and clamp castration and tail docking; ring and clamp castration and ring tail docking) for 4 h after treatment.
Design A physiological study with controls.
Procedure A rubber ring was applied to the scrotum. Then the castration clamp was placed, distal to the ring, on each spermatic cord such that there was no overlap of the crush lines.
Results There were no differences in the cortisol secretion of the lambs castrated and tail docked by the ring only and by the ring plus castration clamp methods. Using the castration clamp in addition to the ring on the tail had no effect on cortisol secretion.
Conclusions Using the castration clamp did not appear to reduce the cortisol response to ring castration and docking, as demonstrated elsewhere, because the areas of uncrushed tissue between the two castration clamp crush lines allowed nociception from ischemic scrotal tissue to be transmitted cranially via undamaged nerve fibers. 相似文献
Design A physiological study with controls.
Procedure A rubber ring was applied to the scrotum. Then the castration clamp was placed, distal to the ring, on each spermatic cord such that there was no overlap of the crush lines.
Results There were no differences in the cortisol secretion of the lambs castrated and tail docked by the ring only and by the ring plus castration clamp methods. Using the castration clamp in addition to the ring on the tail had no effect on cortisol secretion.
Conclusions Using the castration clamp did not appear to reduce the cortisol response to ring castration and docking, as demonstrated elsewhere, because the areas of uncrushed tissue between the two castration clamp crush lines allowed nociception from ischemic scrotal tissue to be transmitted cranially via undamaged nerve fibers. 相似文献
10.
Pain and distress following castration were assessed in lambs using three indicators: behaviour, plasma cortisol and mechanical nociceptive thresholds. Three castration methods: rubber ring (RR), combined ring and Burdizzo clamp (CM) and surgery (SU) were compared. The effects of castration following local anaesthetic pre-treatment (LA) and castration performed under general anaesthetic (GA) were compared to castration performed with no anaesthetic. This gave a 4 x 3 x 3 block design i.e. 36 experimental treatments. Six lambs were allocated to each treatment i.e. 216 lambs were used in all. SU produced the greatest response, followed by RR then CM castration. LA abolished the responses to RR and CM castration but had no effect on the response to SU castration. GA did not reduce the responses to RR and SU but abolished the rise in mechanical nociceptive thresholds and markedly attenuated active pain behaviours in lambs CM castrated without anaesthesia. This suggests that the clamping procedure itself rather than post-castration pain and distress is responsible for the rise in nociceptive thresholds and active pain behaviours in CM castrated lambs. 相似文献
11.
Objective To determine the effectiveness of a topical anaesthetic formulation (Tri-Solfen) with or without the administration of a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (carprofen) on the pain and distress response associated with ring or surgical castration of ram lambs.
Procedures Merino ram lambs (n = 78) were allocated to 10 treatment groups: 4 groups of knife-castrated lambs and 4 groups of ring-castrated lambs received carprofen (4 mg/kg SC) and Tri-Solfen; 2 control groups (sham) received carprofen at 0 or 4 mg/kg SC. Measurements included plasma cortisol and haptoglobin concentrations, haematology, and behaviour, including posture.
Results Knife-castrated lambs had higher peak cortisol and integrated cortisol responses for the first 6 h after treatment and greater concentration s of circulating acute phase proteins than ring-castrated lambs, both of which were significantly different from the sham controls. Tri-Solfen applied to the knife castration wound significantly reduced both the peak plasma cortisol concentration and the integrated cortisol response for the first 6 h and improved lying behaviour in the first 12 h. Carprofen reduced the cortisol response to knife castration at 30 min, but elevated the cortisol responses at 24 and 48 h. Carprofen nearly halved the number of acute pain behaviours associated with ring castration. There were no significant additive or synergistic effects from combining the analgesic treatments. Tri-Solfen applied to the tail wound provided no detectible benefits during ring castration + tail docking.
Conclusions The physiological and behavioural responses suggest that ring castration has less impact on the lamb than knife castration. The specific analgesic treatments can provide modest amelioration of the pain and discomfort associated with castration. Alternative doses or application methods may enhance their efficacy. 相似文献
Procedures Merino ram lambs (n = 78) were allocated to 10 treatment groups: 4 groups of knife-castrated lambs and 4 groups of ring-castrated lambs received carprofen (4 mg/kg SC) and Tri-Solfen; 2 control groups (sham) received carprofen at 0 or 4 mg/kg SC. Measurements included plasma cortisol and haptoglobin concentrations, haematology, and behaviour, including posture.
Results Knife-castrated lambs had higher peak cortisol and integrated cortisol responses for the first 6 h after treatment and greater concentration s of circulating acute phase proteins than ring-castrated lambs, both of which were significantly different from the sham controls. Tri-Solfen applied to the knife castration wound significantly reduced both the peak plasma cortisol concentration and the integrated cortisol response for the first 6 h and improved lying behaviour in the first 12 h. Carprofen reduced the cortisol response to knife castration at 30 min, but elevated the cortisol responses at 24 and 48 h. Carprofen nearly halved the number of acute pain behaviours associated with ring castration. There were no significant additive or synergistic effects from combining the analgesic treatments. Tri-Solfen applied to the tail wound provided no detectible benefits during ring castration + tail docking.
Conclusions The physiological and behavioural responses suggest that ring castration has less impact on the lamb than knife castration. The specific analgesic treatments can provide modest amelioration of the pain and discomfort associated with castration. Alternative doses or application methods may enhance their efficacy. 相似文献
12.
The literature mostly indicates that docking fat-tailed lambs initially reduces growth but that post-weaning growth and feed
conversion efficiency then increase. The amount of fat deposited, the total separable lean meat to fat ratio and the meat
quality all increase, while the percentage of bone in the carcase either decreases or does not change in the carcases of the
docked lambs. Wool growth and characteristics are, in general, not affected and reproductive traits in ewes and lambs are
improved by docking. The rectal temperature, respiration rate and pulse rate are decreased following docking. The concentrations
of immunoreactive beta-endorphin and cortisol in the plasma and the incidence of foot stamping and restlessness, as indicators
of stress, increase after docking. Other constituents of the blood are not significantly altered following docking or by the
methods of docking. Docking of fat-tailed sheep using rubber rings at one day of age can be recommended.
This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date. 相似文献
13.
AIM: To examine cardiovascular, hormonal and other physiological responses of 2-month-old lambs to rubber-ring castration and tail docking. METHODS: Twenty-two male lambs, well accustomed to handling and prepared with femoral artery and jugular vein cannulae, were studied during a 5 h control period and, at least 2 days later, for 1 h before and 4 h after castration and tail docking using rubber rings. Pressure recordings were made via femoral cannulae and blood samples for analysis of plasma constituents were taken from jugular cannulae. RESULTS: Mean systolic, diastolic and mean arterial blood pressure, heart rate and the plasma concentrations of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and cortisol all increased markedly during the first 1 h after ring castration and tail docking. Although plasma ACTH and cortisol concentrations had returned to control levels by 2.5-3 h, blood pressures and heart rate were still elevated 4 h after ring application. In contrast, there were no significant changes in mean plasma concentrations of renin, electrolytes, minerals, glucose, lactate, urea, creatinine, total carbon dioxide and total proteins, plasma osmolality or the haematocrit after ring application. There were no significant changes in the mean values for any parameter during the 5 h control period or the 1 h period before ring application. CONCLUSION: Systolic, diastolic and mean arterial blood pressure and heart rate may be more sensitive than plasma ACTH or cortisol concentrations as indices of low-grade pain induced by ring castration and tail docking. Alternatively, it is possible that by 4 h after ring placement a small shift in sympathetic tone still persists in the absence of low-grade pain. 相似文献
14.
Mellema SC Doherr MG Wechsler B Thüer S Steiner A 《Schweizer Archiv für Tierheilkunde》2007,149(5):213-225
Behavioural and cortisol responses of lambs were used as indicators of pain and distress to assess short- and long-term effects of bloodless castration methods with and without local anaesthesia. Eighty lambs, aged 2-7 days, were control handled or castrated by crushing- Burdizzo- or rubber ring method with and without local anaesthesia. Either 4 mg/kg diluted lidocaine, or corresponding volumes of physiologic sodium chloride solution were distributed in both spermatic cords and the scrotal neck. The serum cortisol response was monitored for 48 h, behavioural- and clinical traits over a 3-month period. The crushing castration method was excluded from the study after 10 lambs had been castrated, since this method showed severe local reactions. Local anaesthesia significantly reduced behavioural and cortisol responses after rubber ring castration and tendentially after Burdizzo castration. Prolonged or chronic pain after rubber ring castration with anaesthesia was not evident. If combined with local anaesthesia, both the rubber ring and the Burdizzo method are acceptable methods for castration of lambs up to one week of age. 相似文献
15.
Objective To investigate the effect of a topical anaesthetic formulation on pain alleviation, wound healing and systemic levels of local anaesthetic actives in lambs undergoing castration and tail docking. Design Three placebo-controlled and/or randomised experiments were conducted using three groups of Merino lambs (n = 62, 68 and 19) undergoing routine castration and tail docking. Procedure Surgical castration, with either surgical or hot-iron tail docking, was performed with and without the application of topical anaesthetic (Tri-Solfen®) or placebo. The effects of this procedure were compared with those of rubber ring castration and tail docking, and of the handled but unmarked controls. Wound pain was assessed using calibrated Von-Frey monofilaments over a 4-h period, pain-related behaviour was assessed over 5 h, wound healing was assessed at 14 and 28 days, and the plasma levels of lignocaine and bupivacaine were determined. Results Rapid and up to 4 h primary hyperalgesia developed following surgical castration and tail docking in the untreated and placebo-treated lambs. It was absent in the castration wounds, and significantly reduced in the tail-docking wounds, of the treated lambs. Hot-iron docking was associated with mild and transient secondary hyperalgesia, which was abolished by the topical anaesthesia. There was a significant reduction in pain-related behaviours in treated lambs, which were not significantly different in their behaviour to the sham-operation handled controls. Plasma lignocaine and bupivacaine levels were below the toxic thresholds in all tested lambs. Conclusion Topical anaesthesia alleviates wound pain and significantly reduces pain-related behaviours in lambs undergoing surgical castration plus surgical or hot-iron tail docking, without a negative effect on wound healing or a risk of systemic toxicity. 相似文献
16.
PURPOSES AND APPROACH: Acute castration and/or tailing distress in lambs has been examined extensively during the last decade. At least 59 different approaches to assessing and alleviating this distress have been reported so that the literature is quite complex. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the literature on castration and/or tailing distress, where the distress was assessed using acute changes in plasma cortisol concentrations. A method of analysis involving the integrated cortisol response (i.e. the areas under the cortisol curves while the plasma concentration is above pretreatment values) to each treatment and using treatments which were common to different studies as reference points, allowed meaningful comparison within and between studies. A 6-point ranking scale emerged, where rank 1 represented the least distress and rank 6 the most distress. COMPARISON OF ACUTE DISTRESS RESPONSES: This analysis revealed the following major points. Surgical methods of castration and/or tailing cause the greatest cortisol responses (rank 5 or 6). Most ring and ring plus clamp methods of castration plus tailing or castration, used without a local anaesthetic or systemic analgesic, cause rank 4 responses. One form of ring plus clamp castration (i.e. applying the clamp for 10 s across the full width of the scrotum distal to the ring in lambs aged no more than 1 week) reduces the cortisol response to rank 1. When these lambs are also tailed by applying a ring and clamp in a similar manner to the tail, they also exhibit a rank 1 response. Local anaesthetic given 10-20 or 12 min or 10-15 s before or immediately after ring only castration and/or tailing can virtually abolish the cortisol response (rank 1), depending on the site(s) of injection. For ring or ring plus clamp castration, the most effective sites (as judged by cortisol responses) are the neck of the scrotum or the testes. Delivery of local anaesthetic to achieve successful nerve blockade can be by needle, high-pressure needleless administration or, for the tail only, by an aerosol spray. Local anaesthetic injected into the scrotal neck, spermatic cords and/or testes has little effect on the overall cortisol response to clamp castration. Reductions in cortisol responses to clamp castration or to ring tailing can occur after administration of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Most tailing methods elicit cortisol responses that are several ranks lower than those caused by castration plus tailing or castration alone. Although tailing by most methods elicits rank 1 cortisol responses, the use of local anaesthetic or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can reduce the response within the rank 1 range. RECOMMENDATION: Farmers should be encouraged to choose the lowest ranked method that is economically and practically feasible for them. Specific methods such as surgical castration should be discouraged. 相似文献
17.
The effects of castration were studied in calves 4 to 11 weeks of age, using increases in salivary cortisol as an indicator of stress. Groups were castrated surgically or by rubber ring application or were non-castrated (control) females. The surgically castrated group showed more agitation during the operation, but both castrated groups resumed normal behaviour soon after the operation was completed. The short-term salivary cortisol response was significantly higher after surgical castration than after the application of rubber rings, where, in turn, it was significantly higher than in the control group. Salivary cortisol was elevated over a period from 15 min to 3 h following the castration, but at 4, 24 h and 6 days post-treatment there were no significant differences between treated groups and controls. 相似文献
18.
Mellema SC Doherr MG Wechsler B Thueer S Steiner A 《Veterinary journal (London, England : 1997)》2006,172(2):274-283
To assess short- and long-term effects of bloodless castration methods with and without local anaesthesia, behavioural and cortisol responses of lambs were used as indicators of pain and distress. Seventy lambs, aged 2-7 days, were control-handled or castrated by Burdizzo or rubber ring methods with and without local anaesthesia. Either 5 mL of diluted lidocaine (4 mg/kg) or physiological sodium chloride solution was distributed in both spermatic cords and the scrotal neck. The serum cortisol response was monitored for 48 h, and behavioural and clinical traits were followed for three months. Local anaesthesia tended to reduce behavioural and cortisol responses after Burdizzo castration and provided a significant reduction after rubber ring castration. Prolonged pain after rubber ring castration with anaesthesia was not evident. If combined with local anaesthesia, both the rubber ring and the Burdizzo methods are acceptable methods for castration of lambs up to one week of age. 相似文献
19.
Sutherland MA Mellor DJ Stafford KJ Gregory NG Bruce RA Ward RN Todd SE 《Australian veterinary journal》1999,77(11):738-741
OBJECTIVE: To test whether injecting lignocaine into the scrotal neck 5 to 10 s before or into both testes immediately after ring castration and docking wound significantly reduce the plasma cortisol response to castration and docking. DESIGN: A physiological study with controls. PROCEDURE: Lambs were given one of six treatments: control handling, injection of lignocaine into scrotal neck, injection of lignocaine into both testes, ring castration and docking, ring castration and docking after lignocaine was injected into the scrotal neck, and ring castration and docking before lignocaine was injected into both testes. Blood samples were taken before and regularly after treatment and analysed for plasma cortisol concentrations. RESULTS: The plasma cortisol concentrations of lambs castrated and docked after lignocaine had been injected into the scrotal neck were significantly lower between 20 and 60 min after treatment than in lambs castrated and docked without local anaesthesia. Injecting lignocaine into the testes after ring application did not significantly reduce the cortisol response to ring castration and docking. CONCLUSIONS: Lignocaine injected into the scrotal neck 5 to 10 s before ring castration will reduce the cortisol response and by inference the pain associated with ring castration. 相似文献
20.
Dinniss AS Mellor DJ Stafford KJ Bruce RA Ward RN 《New Zealand veterinary journal》1997,45(3):114-121
Changes in plasma cortisol concentrations during the first 4 hours after castration of 6-week-old lambs by one of four methods were measured. The methods were application of a rubber ring above the testes, application of a ring to shorten the scrotum below the testes, use of a castration clamp plus a ring, and use of a castration clamp alone. The efficacy of local anaesthetic in reducing or abolishing the cortisol responses to castration by all these methods except short scrotum was assessed. Local anaesthetic was injected into the neck of the scrotum, both spermatic cords, the scrotal neck plus spermatic cords, or into both testes. The combined clamp plus ring method was used to test whether or not clamp damage to afferent nerves from the testes would reduce the cortisol response to ring castration. The short scrotum method elicited a significantly lower cortisol response than that caused by ring castration. Injection of local anaesthetic into both spermatic cords marginally reduced the cortisol response to ring castration, but the response was virtually abolished by prior scrotal neck, or scrotal neck plus spermatic cords, or intra-testicular local anaesthetic injections. The clamp plus ring method, where each spermatic cord and the associated scrotal tissue were crushed separately for 1, 5 or 10 seconds with no overlap between the two crush lines, did not elicit lower cortisol responses than the ring-only method. Local anaesthetic injected into the scrotal neck virtually abolished, and spermatic cord injections markedly reduced, the cortisol responses to combined clamp plus ring castration. The IO-second clamp application caused a more protracted cortisol response than did ring-only castration, whereas the cortisol responses to 1-second clamp application and to ring-only castration were similar. Local anaesthetic injected into the scrotal neck or spermatic cords did not affect significantly the cortisol response to the IO-second clamp application. The following conclusions were drawn from this work: the testes as well as the scrotum were sources of noxious sensory input after ring application; the clamp plus ring method used here was ineffective in reducing the pain-induced distress (as indicated by cortisol concentrations) caused by ring-only castration; injection of local anaesthetic into the scrotal neck or into the testes prior to ring application blocked most noxious sensory input from both the scrotum and the testes; and on the basis of the present cortisol responses the 10-second clamp applications method could not be recommended in reference to the ring-only method, but the l-second clamp application method might be equally acceptable for castrating 6-week-old-lambs. Of the methods examined, injections of local anaesthetic into the scrotal neck or both testes were the most effective in reducing the pain-induced distress caused by ring-only castration. 相似文献