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Rubber ring castration (elastration)
Explore the advantages and disadvantages of rubber ring castration, including the impact on productivity and profitability.
Advantages of rubber ring castration:
- Inexpensive
- Can be performed alongside other health checks
Disadvantages of rubber ring castration:
- Must be carried out within seven days of being born
- Advised not to be done within the first 24 hours of life
- Risk of mismothering and reduced suckling
- May cause chronic pain
- Possible increased feed intake
Table 1. The impact of rubber ring castration compared with leaving rams entire
| Measure | Impact |
|---|---|
| Welfare | Negative |
| Productivity | Negative |
| Profitability (added value) | Mixed |
| Environmental sustainability: GHG, air and climate, biodiversity | Negative |
Table 2. Considerations for rubber ring castration
| Implementation | Rating |
|---|---|
| Cost |
£ |
| Speed | Fast |
| Production system | Lambs are handled ≤7 days of age |
£ No new equipment or time constraints over and above existing business-as-usual running costs
What is rubber ring castration?
The rubber ring castration method (also known as elastration) involves placing a thick rubber ring around the neck of the scrotum with the testicles below the ring. The rubber ring has a small internal circumference and applies enough pressure to cut off the blood supply. This causes the scrotum and testicles to drop off over a period of 2–4 weeks.
Legally, you cannot use this procedure on lambs over seven days of age in the UK, according to the Mutilations (Permitted Procedures) (England) Regulations 2007.
Where can this practice work?
You can only use this technique if you handle lambs within the first week of life.
This makes rubber ring castration impractical for many systems, e.g. hill farms where lambs from outdoor lambing flocks are typically gathered for castration above this age.
How much does rubber ring castration cost?
This practice is inexpensive, requiring suitable castration pliers to apply the rubber rings and a supply of rubber rings. Castration pliers cost in the region of £5–15 and rubber rings cost 1–2p per ring.
As with all methods, labour is needed to castrate the lambs, although this is typically carried out quickly at the same time as other health checks.
Rubber ring castration is widely used and simple to carry out, with no specialist training required.
How can rubber ring castration be done well?
It is advisable not to use rubber ring castration within the first 24 hours of a lamb’s life as it can result in mismothering.
The discomfort may also discourage lambs from suckling at a critical time, meaning they don’t consume enough colostrum.
For this method to be effective, both testicles must be entirely below the rubber ring. Make sure you can feel both testicles before applying the ring and that you place it above the testicles.
Make sure that the ring does not cover the lamb’s rudimentary teats – anything trapped within the ring will waste away and drop off.
You cannot use rubber ring castration on cryptorchids (animals with undescended testicles).
What is the impact on animal welfare?
Lambs castrated using the rubber ring method may experience chronic pain; this could affect their welfare and impair their freedom from pain and discomfort.
Although this method is less stressful for lambs than surgical castration, the healing process is slower.
Lambs display pain-related behaviours, such as turning to look at their scrotum, six weeks after castration using a rubber ring. They also exhibit foot stamping, kicking and restlessness over 10 times more in the first two hours post-castration compared with clamp castration without local anaesthetic.
Using anaesthesia significantly reduces the pain response.
Rubber ring castration has an adverse effect on the welfare of lambs, due to both the acute short-term and chronic exposure to pain.
What is the impact on productivity?
If you carry out rubber ring castration within 48 hours of birth, lambs may not consume enough colostrum – this puts them at increased risk of disease and mortality.
This technique does not affect the weight and growth performance of lambs but does influence feed efficiency.
In the study, lambs gained 16.8 kg total weight at an average of 280 g/day. However, the feed intake of the castrated lambs was 128 g/day higher than the feed intake of entire ram lambs, which indicates that their feed conversion efficiency was poorer.
The higher feed intake and resulting costs may make this practice less appealing, despite the low cost to implement.
What is the impact on profitability?
A higher feed intake and poorer feed efficiency will have a negative impact on profitability.
Lambs that don’t consume enough colostrum are more likely to suffer from disease and illness, which may need veterinary treatment. It could also result in the lambs dying. Both scenarios will have a negative financial impact.
If you need to provide supplementary feed, this will increase costs through extra labour and feed.
What is the impact on environmental sustainability?
There is a lack of evidence related to rubber ring castration and environmental sustainability. However, the use of single-use rubber rings should be considered.
The environmental impact of rubber is complex and depends on many factors, such as the country of production, manufacturing method and whether it is natural or synthetic.
The reduced performance of castrated lambs and increased feed requirements could also have a negative impact on sustainability.
What are the legal implications of rubber ring castration?
The Mutilations (Permitted Procedures) (England) Regulations 2007 only permits rubber ring castration on lambs aged seven days or less. There are no upper age limits for other methods, unless lambs are over three months old, when you must use an anaesthetic.
The Defra Code of Recommendations for the Welfare of Livestock: Sheep also states that: “Castration should not be performed on lambs until the ewe/lamb bond has become established.”
Anyone over the age of 18 can carry out rubber ring castration, as long as they fulfil any legal requirements, such as that in the Animal Welfare Act 2006 which states that any operative is “reasonably competent and humane”.
Since a wound is created by this method, Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 also applies – you may not transport castrated males until any wounds produced by the procedure have fully healed.
Given the young age and narrow window for using this method, along with the legal requirements, rubber ring castration may not be suitable for some farms.
How do farm assurance standards manage rubber ring castration?
Rubber ring castration is one of only three permitted castration techniques in the RSPCA assurance scheme. You must seek permission to castrate animals from their Farm Animals department annually.
Both the RSPCA and Soil Association standards require the use of pain relief with all castration methods.
Red Tractor and RSPCA standards require you to record planned castrations in your health plan, reviewed by your vet.
How strong is the evidence for rubber ring castration?
As part of our research, we found a range of studies which explore the use and effects of rubber ring castration on animal welfare compared with other castration techniques.
Cortisol (a stress hormone) levels and behaviour assessments were among the measurements used to determine welfare, with some studies also comparing pain levels with and without local anaesthetics/analgesics (pain relief).
Rubber ring castration carried out without local anaesthetic or pain relief results in acute and/or chronic pain for lambs. Leaving ram lambs entire, therefore, remains the preferred option where feasible.
How the three Rs can be applied
We have reviewed leaving ram lambs entire and various castration methods in terms of how they can be reduced, refined or replaced (the three Rs) and the impacts of doing so.
Strategies for reduction: There is scope to reduce the number of lambs castrated using rubber rings by ensuring that you have the right management tools and infrastructure to allow ram lambs to be kept entire.
Strategies for refinement: You could refine rubber ring castration on your farm by providing local anaesthetics or analgesia during the procedure and pain management afterwards. Note: the need to apply the rings by seven days of age still applies even if you use pain relief.
Strategies for replacement: You could replace rubber ring castration with leaving male lambs entire.
The information on this page is taken from an AHDB-commissioned report.