Impact of a Topical Anaesthesia Wound Management Formulation on Pain, Inflammation and Reduction of Secondary Infections after Tail Docking in Lambs.

Luis Miguel Ferrer,Héctor Ruiz,Peter Andrew Windsor,Juan José Ramos,Marta Ruiz De Arcaute,Enrique Castells,María Pérez,María Teresa Tejedor,Marta Borobia,Aurora Ortín,Delia Lacasta

doi:10.3390/ani10081255

Abstract

Simple SummaryTail docking is routinely conducted in sheep husbandry around the world, often without anaesthesia or analgesia despite recognition that it is a painful process. Several methods are used, although the Council of Europe states that surgical methods with anaesthesia should be used to dock the tail, with these recommendations copied into national legislation by most European countries. However, no studies have been documented comparing the use of general anaesthesia and stitching. This study compared different surgical approaches with and without general anaesthesia, and with and without surgical stitching, plus examined the efficacy of applying a commercially available wound gel spray containing topical anaesthetics and an antiseptic, immediately on tail amputation. Results demonstrated that lambs display more pain when the surgery included stitching and these wounds became more readily infected, potentially requiring antibiotic therapy. As the generation of potential antimicrobial resistance and drug residues issues in food-producing animals from over-use of antibiotics is an emerging one health consideration, the availability of a topical anaesthetic formulation that provides pain relief and contains an antiseptic that reduces secondary infections and hasten wound healing, is of potential importance for improving husbandry procedures such as tail docking.We examined several procedures for surgical tail docking; with and without general anaesthesia (GA), including the use of a topical wound gel formulation to provide pain relief (PR) and improve healing after surgery, containing local anaesthetics lignocaine and bupivacaine, with cetrimide and adrenalin. Forty-four lambs were recruited into four equal cohorts: Groups A and C, the tail was excised with a scalpel without anaesthesia or stitches; Groups B and D, the tail was surgically excised and stitched under GA; Groups C and D wounds were immediately sprayed with PR. Behavioural observations identified that Groups A and C displayed significantly less pain-related behaviours than Groups B and D shortly after the procedure, especially if treated with PR. Similarly, the mean of days when animals showed no signs of wound infection was longer in the groups not undergoing stitching. Finally, treatment with PR appeared to reduce the cortisol response and avoided the elevation of serum amyloid A in lambs where the tail was excised without general anaesthesia. In conclusion, surgical tail-docking without GA but where wounds are immediately sprayed with PR, appears as an affordable and more welfare-appropriate method for conducting tail docking in lambs.

Highlights

IntroductionNumerous studies have demonstrated that tail docking causes acute pain in lambs [5,6,7], it remains a common procedure, often performed without pain relief
Amputation of the tail in livestock or tail docking, is a routine husbandry procedure in sheep production worldwide for preventative management of myiasis [1,2,3] and improved fertility [4]. numerous studies have demonstrated that tail docking causes acute pain in lambs [5,6,7], it remains a common procedure, often performed without pain relief
The time required to perform the surgery under general anaesthesia and subsequent stitching of each lamb exceeded 10 min and the traditional method without GA took less than a minute

Summary

Introduction

Numerous studies have demonstrated that tail docking causes acute pain in lambs [5,6,7], it remains a common procedure, often performed without pain relief Despite justification for such aversive husbandry procedures to manage animal health and production issues, there is a growing concern for the welfare of animals undergoing these procedures, with demands they cease or at least include pain relief [8]. Tail docking by surgery involves severing the tail using a sharp knife or scalpel, or a hot knife or docking iron to cauterise the wound [10,11] These procedures have mostly been performed by farmers or their contractors without analgesia or anaesthesia as the use of anaesthesia usually requires costly participation or supervision of a veterinarian and until recently, there have been no pain relief products available for use by farmers [8,10]. The Council of Europe (CoE), in 1992 [12], stated in Article 30 that mutilations are not permitted, except for tail docking (as long as sufficient length of the tail is left to cover anus and vulva)

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