The objectives of the present study were to compare the cortisol response caused by ear tagging piglets with the distress caused by other known painful husbandry procedures (e.g. castration and tail docking) and to evaluate the effectiveness of analgesia with meloxicam to reduce the cortisol response caused by these procedures. In total, 210 male piglets were randomised to equal numbers (n = 30) into one of seven groups: a control group which was only handled (H), an ear tagged group that received no analgesia (ET), an ear tagged group with analgesia (ETM), a castration group with no analgesia (C), a castration group with analgesia (CM), a tail-docked group with no analgesia (TD) and a tail-docked group with analgesia (TDM). The procedures were carried out on day 3 or 4 after farrowing. Five blood samples were taken from each piglet: 30 min before the respective procedure (baseline value), and 30, 60 min, 4 and 7 h after processing, to assess cortisol concentrations. Means as well as the area under the curve (AUC) value were analysed and the effective sizes of the procedures were established. At 7 h after the experimental treatment, cortisol concentrations had returned to base values in all groups. ET evoked a greater cortisol response than H piglets at 30 min (P < 0.001) and 60 min (P = 0.001). The cortisol response to ET was lower than C at 30 min (P = 0.001) but did not differ significantly at the other sample times. The mean cortisol response was similar between ET and TD piglets over all sample times. Taking both intensity and duration of the cortisol response into account (AUC), ET evoked a greater response than TD. Analgesia (ETM) resulted in significantly lower cortisol levels than ET at 30 and 60 min post-procedure. Castration (C) provoked the highest cortisol response of all procedures; a significant analgesic effect (CM) was shown only at 4 h post-procedure. TD resulted in significantly higher cortisol levels than H piglets only at 30 min; analgesia (TDM) significantly reduced the cortisol response at 30 min. We conclude that ear tagging causes a dramatic increase in cortisol levels compared with handling alone in piglets, which suggests that this procedure causes substantial distress. However, further research is needed to confirm these results.
Castration of male pigs without anesthesia is a significant welfare issue. Improvac®, a GnRH vaccine induces an endogenous immune response leading to a decrease in testicular steroids. Consequences of different vaccination schemes on testicular function and carcass quality were evaluated in immunocastrated boars (IC), surgical castrates (SC), and entire males (EM). Therefore, 128 male piglets were assigned to five treatment-groups and a long term follow-up group. IC groups received two vaccinations (V1, V2) with Improvac® at 8 and 12, 12 and 16, or 12 and 18 weeks. Testosterone-concentrations decreased significantly two weeks after V2 in feces and dropped in serum from V2 to slaughter (S) except IC-8/12 without differing significantly. GnRH-binding results indicated the highest values for IC-12/18 animals. While IC-12/16 and IC-12/18 animals showed boar taint compounds below the threshold levels, two IC-8/12 animals had concentrations above the threshold level. Feed-efficiency was higher in EM than in SC with IC in between. In IC compared to EM, a decreasing amount of polyunsaturated-fatty-acids was obvious and GnRH-vaccination reduced penile injuries. The examined vaccination protocols reduce penile injuries, improve feed efficiency and carcass quality, and reliably prevents boar taint, if manufacturer’s recommendations concerning vaccination schedules are applied. Therefore immunocastration offers a reliable, animal friendly alternative to surgical castration.
Zusammenfassung Ziel Beurteilung der Wirksamkeit der Lokalanästhesie (LA) durch skrotale kombiniert mit inguinaler Applikation von Procain 2 %, von Lidocain 5 % und durch intratestikuläre Applikation von Lidocain 1 % bei der Saugferkelkastration anhand der Parameter Adrenalin (A), Noradrenalin (NA) sowie Abwehrbewegungen und koordinierter Bewegungsabläufe der Tiere. Material und Methoden In 2 Teilversuchen (TV) wurden 232 männliche Saugferkel (3.–6. Lebenstag) in Versuchsgruppen eingeteilt. In Gruppe L5 wurde Lidocain 5 % und in Gruppe P2 Procain 2 % inguinal und skrotal verabreicht. In den Gruppen H (nur Handling) und K (Kastration ohne LA) wurden die Ferkel wie bei diesen Injektionen fixiert. In Gruppe L1 erfolgte eine intratestikuläre Injektion von Lidocain 1 %. 30 Minuten später wurden die Tiere kastriert bzw. wie für die Kastration fixiert (Gruppe H). In TV1 (n = 112) wurde das Abwehrverhalten während Injektion und Kastration mittels Score beurteilt und direkt nach der Kastration Blutproben zur Bestimmung der A- und NA-Konzentration entnommen. In TV2 (n = 120) absolvierten alle Tiere einen Hürdenlauf, um die individuelle Schmerzbelastung zu dokumentieren. Ergebnisse Beim Handling bzw. während der Injektion wiesen Ferkel der Gruppen H bzw. L1 geringere Abwehrbewegungen auf als Ferkel der übrigen Gruppen (p ≤ 0,05). In Gruppe P2 traten nach Injektion mehr Laufauffälligkeiten auf (p ≤ 0,05) und in dieser Gruppe verlängerte sich die für den Hürdenlauf benötigte Zeit um > 50 %. Während der Samenstrangdurchtrennung wurden bei allen Gruppen die Abwehrbewegungen am höchsten bewertet, Gruppe K wies den höchstmöglichen Abwehrscore auf und unterschied sich, ebenso wie während der Hautschnitte, von den übrigen Gruppen (p ≤ 0,05). Sowohl die A- als auch NA-Konzentration stieg in allen Gruppen nach Kastration an (p ≤ 0,05), wobei dieser Anstieg in Gruppe P2 (NA, A) und K (A) höher ausfiel als in den übrigen Gruppen (p ≤ 0,05). Schlussfolgerung Keine der angewendeten Methoden bewirkte eine vollständigen Schmerzausschaltung während der Kastration. Die Injektion von Procain 2 % führte gemessen an Verhaltensbeobachtungen insgesamt zu einer höheren Belastung, in beiden Lidocaingruppen (L1, L5) traten nach Kastration tendenziell geringere Schmerzreaktionen auf. Diese Ergebnisse schaffen eine Grundlage für weitere Untersuchungen und können Ansätze bieten, um Lokalanästhetika mit höherer analgetischer Potenz und längerer Wirksamkeit in entsprechender Dosierung auf geeignete Weise zu applizieren.
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