Abstract
To assess the effect of meloxicam and lidocaine on indicators of pain associated with castration, forty-eight Angus crossbred beef calves (304 ± 40.5 kg of BW, 7–8 months of age) were used in a 28 day experiment. The experiment consisted of a 2 × 2 factorial design where main factors included provision of analgesia and local anaesthesia. Analgesia consisted of: no-meloxicam (N; n = 24) single s.c. administration of lactated ringer’s solution and meloxicam (M; n = 24) single dose of 0.5 mg/kg of s.c. meloxicam. Local anesthesia consisted of: no-lidocaine (R; n = 24) ring block administration of lactated ringer’s solution or lidociane (L; n = 24) ring block administration of lidocaine. To yield the following treatments: no meloxicam + no lidocaine (N-R; n = 12), no meloxicam + lidocaine (N-L; n = 12), meloxicam + no lidocaine (M-R; n = 12) and meloxicam + lidocaine (M-L; n = 12). Salivary cortisol concentrations were lower (lidocaine × time effect; P < 0.01) in L calves than R calves 0.5 and 1 hours after castration, while concentrations were lower (meloxicam × time effect; P = 0.02) in M calves than N calves at 2, 4 and 48 hours. The serum amyloid-A concentrations were greater (lidocaine × time effect; P < 0.01) in R calves than L calves on days 1, 3, 21 and 28 after castration. Haptoglobin concentrations were greater (meloxicam × time effect; P = 0.01) in N calves than M calves 24 and 48 hours after castration. Lower (lidocaine effect; P < 0.01) visual analog scale (VAS) scores, leg movement frequencies and head movement distance were observed in L calves than R calves at the time of castration. Escape behaviour during castration was lower (lidocaine effect; P < 0.05) in L calves than R calves based on data captured with accelerometer and head gate devices. Scrotal circumference had a triple interaction (lidocaine × meloxicam × time; P = 0.03), where M-R calves had greater scrotal circumference than M-L calves 28 d after castration, but no differences were observed between both groups and N-R and N-L calves. No differences (P > 0.05) were observed for average daily gain (ADG), weights or feeding behaviour. Overall, both lidocaine and meloxicam reduced physiological and behavioural indicators of pain. Although there was only one meloxicam × lidocaine interaction, lidocaine and meloxicam reduced physiological and behavioural parameters at different time points, which could be more effective at mitigating pain than either drug on its own.
Highlights
The public is increasingly concerned about the conditions in which livestock are raised [1], and especially about routine painful husbandry procedures such as castration, dehorning and branding [2]
Castration has been previously reported to cause physiological and behavioural changes indicative of pain and distress [3], this procedure is commonly done without the use of pain control [4]
As of January 2018, it is a requirement of the Canadian Beef Codes of Practice to castrate calves 6 months of age or older with the use of pain mitigation
Summary
The public is increasingly concerned about the conditions in which livestock are raised [1], and especially about routine painful husbandry procedures such as castration, dehorning and branding [2]. Castration has been previously reported to cause physiological and behavioural changes indicative of pain and distress [3], this procedure is commonly done without the use of pain control [4]. Canada has codes of practice specific to farmed animals which identify recommended best management practices. The Canadian Beef Codes of Practice [5] recommend using pain control under veterinary advisement when performing painful procedures. As of January 2018, it is a requirement of the Canadian Beef Codes of Practice to castrate calves 6 months of age or older with the use of pain mitigation. There are no standard pain mitigation protocols as it is challenging to identify a protocol which is practical, cost effective and animal welfare friendly. There is a lack of drugs labelled for pain control associated with castration, with the exception of oral meloxicam
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have