Castration of male livestock and the potential of immunocastration to improve animal we

T Needham,H Lambrechts,L.C Hoffman

doi:10.4314/sajas.v47i6.1

Abstract

Growing consumer awareness about animal welfare has led to the assessment of the impact of common farming practices, such as physical castration, on animal well-being under production conditions. Physical castration is used in livestock industries to prevent indiscriminate breeding, control aggression, and improve meat and carcass quality. In terms of animal welfare, physical castration causes pain, decreased growth performance, infection, and mortality. An alternative approach to castration is thus warranted that will ensure optimal growth without compromising the castrated animal's wellbeing. Immunocastration has proved to be an effective method of suppressing the development and functioning of the reproductive system in various domesticated and wildlife species. The effect of immunocastration on production performance is well-documented for both swine and cattle. Although ram lambs used for meat production are often physically castrated, information regarding the potential application of immunocastration in sheep is limited. However, immunocastration may potentially improve the welfare, performance, and meat quality of ram lambs used in commercial meat production systems. The purpose of this review is to compare the application and the effects of immunocastration on male livestock to highlight and motivate the need for further research into its use on ram lambs.

Highlights

Consumer awareness about the welfare of production animals has increased recently, with the physical castration of livestock receiving considerable attention
The Global Meat News’ State of the Industry Survey Report (2015) stated that, ―eighty-three percent of meat industry professionals strongly agreed that the global meat industry must put more emphasis on animal welfare and impose tougher regulations‖
Intact males have a faster growth rate and superior feed efficiency than castrates (Field, 1971; Pauly et al, 2009; Sales, 2014), various management and welfare issues exist regarding the raising of intact males (Cronin et al, 2003; Price et al, 2003)

Summary

Introduction

Consumer awareness about the welfare of production animals has increased recently, with the physical castration of livestock receiving considerable attention. The Global Meat News’ State of the Industry Survey Report (2015) stated that, ―eighty-three percent of meat industry professionals strongly agreed that the global meat industry must put more emphasis on animal welfare and impose tougher regulations‖. This point of view was resonated in the European Union’s decision to voluntarily ban the physical castration of piglets without anaesthesia from 2018 (Font-i-Furnols et al, 2012). Heavy or more physiologically developed intact male carcasses are penalized at the abattoir due to various meat quality issues. There is a need to formulate alternative management practices that will ensure efficient growth of male animals that will result in optimum carcass and meat quality, without having to compromise animal welfare

Objectives

Findings

Conclusion