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Surgical castration
Learn about surgical castration of ram lambs, including the impact on productivity and profitability.
Disadvantages of surgical castration:
- Should only be carried out by a vet
- More expensive than other methods
- Pain and stress associated with the procedure
- Increased risk of infection
- Possible reduced growth rates and feed conversion of castrated lambs
Table 1. The impact of surgical castration compared with leaving rams entire
|
Measure | Impact |
|---|---|
| Welfare (relative to entire lambs) | Negative |
| Productivity | Negative |
| Profitability (added value) | Positive |
| Environmental sustainability: GHG, air and climate, biodiversity | Negative |
Table 2. Considerations for surgical castration
|
Implementation | Rating |
|---|---|
| Cost | ££ |
| Speed | Fast |
| Production system | All systems |
££ May need additional time for training or experiential learning to establish new practice, but once implemented this rapidly transitions into business-as-usual running costs
What is surgical castration?
This method involves removing the testicles using a scalpel or knife via an incision in the scrotum; during the process, the spermatic cords may or may not be cut or clamped.
The British Veterinary Association and many farm assurance schemes recommend that a vet should carry out this procedure.
Surgical castration was widely practised before rubber ring castration became available; it is now less common.
Where can this practice work?
This technique is suitable for any system, although it is unlikely to be a first choice for most farmers because it can have a detrimental impact on animal health and welfare.
A vet must carry out the procedure if lambs are older than three months.
How much does surgical castration cost?
Where the procedure is carried out by a vet, and depending on the size of your flock, the cost is likely to be significant.
It will also require more labour than some methods – this will depend on your system.
Post-treatment medicine costs are variable and will depend on how well lambs respond to surgery and their recovery time.
The additional costs and time make surgical castration less likely to be used as a routine practice.
How can surgical castration be done well?
This procedure should be carried out by a vet, with appropriate use of anaesthetic and pain relief.
This is a legal requirement when lambs are over three months old.
What is the impact on animal welfare?
Surgical castration causes significantly more distress to lambs than other methods.
In addition to the acute and chronic pain associated with the procedure, there is a significant increased risk of infection compared with bloodless castration techniques.
There is also a risk of severe bleeding and prolapse of intestinal loops.
What is the impact on productivity?
Castration of any kind generally reduces productivity compared with leaving rams entire.
One study reported growth rates of 290g/day for castrates, compared with 400g/day for entire rams. Feed intakes were, however, similar, which means castrated lambs had a poorer feed conversion ratio.
Meat from castrated lambs contains more fat than that of entire rams; research findings are mixed on whether this impacts carcase weight and grade.
What is the impact on profitability?
A higher feed intake and poorer feed efficiency could have a negative impact on profitability.
The potential for surgical complications and infection could also result in higher veterinary and medicine costs.
Where the procedure is carried out by a vet, it will increase costs compared with less invasive methods.
It takes about 14 minutes to castrate each lamb (10+ weeks old) using the surgical method, versus five minutes using the clamp method and 0.7 minutes with a rubber ring.
Meat from castrated lambs contains more fat than that of entire rams, which could be less appealing to consumers.
What is the impact on environmental sustainability?
There is a lack of evidence related to surgical castration and environmental sustainability. However, the reduced performance of castrated lambs and increased feed requirements could have a negative impact.
If castration wounds become infected, you may need to administer antibiotics. This could be seen as misaligning with the One Health approach to the challenge of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), where it is preferable to use alternative techniques with less risk of infection.
The use and disposal of consumables, e.g. surgical gloves, scalpel blades and drug disposal, should also be taken into consideration.
What are the legal implications of surgical castration?
According to the Animal Welfare Act 2006, anyone carrying out surgical castration must be “reasonably competent and humane” and work within an established code of conduct.
In practice, this means that only vets should carry out this procedure, with appropriate use of anaesthetic and pain relief. This is a legal requirement when lambs are over three months old, as per The Mutilations (Permitted Procedures) (England) Regulations 2007.
Since a wound is created, Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 applies – you may not transport castrated males until any wounds produced by the procedure have fully healed.
How do farm assurance standards manage surgical castration?
Surgical castration is one of only three permitted castration techniques in the RSPCA assurance scheme, authorised only for use by a licenced vet, with both pre- and post-operative pain relief. You must seek permission to castrate animals from the RSPCA’s Farm Animals department annually.
Red Tractor standards require any method other than rubber ring or clamp castration to be undertaken by a licenced vet.
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 surgical castration?
There are few studies that explore the use and effects of surgical castration on lamb welfare.
Those that have been done indicate that surgical castration causes more distress to lambs than rubber ring or clamp castration.
Leaving ram lambs entire, or choosing an alternative method, therefore, remains preferrable 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 surgery by ensuring you have the right management tools and infrastructure to allow ram lambs to be kept entire.
Strategies for refinement: You could refine this practice by giving lambs pain relief in addition to anaesthetic.
Strategies for replacement: You could replace surgical castration with leaving male lambs entire.
The information on this page is taken from an AHDB-commissioned report.