Recognizing Post-Castration Pain in Piglets: A Survey of Swine Industry Stakeholders and the General Public

Neary, Jessica Michelle; Porter, Nathaniel D.; Viscardi, Abbie V.; Jacobs, Leonie

doi:10.3389/fanim.2022.937020

Cited by 4 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Although the Piglet Grimace Scale was previously validated to detect pain expression after castration 32 , and can be applied successfully by a wide range of stakeholders 33 , scores did not differ between castration treatments in the current study. Grimace scores were higher at 6 hours post-treatment compared to 24 hours post-treatment.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 52%

Investigating the short- and long-term impacts of pain from surgical castration on affective states in piglets

Neary

Ali

Jacobs

2022

Preprint

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Surgical castration of male piglets is a routine procedure performed to improve meat quality. Pain due to castration can last for up to 4 days, negatively impacting animal welfare. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of surgical castration and practical pain alleviation methods during and after castration on piglets’ short and long-term affective states and activity. Piglets were surgically castrated (n = 22), castrated with analgesics (n = 21), or sham-handled (n = 22) at 3 days of age. Data on piglets’ activity, tails, and grimaces were collected for 1, 6, and 24 hours after castration treatments. An attention bias test was performed in week 1 (n = 31) and 12 (n = 33) to assess anxiety (an affective state), with feed (positive stimulus) and loud bangs and flashing lights (negative stimuli) presented simultaneously. Latency to eat, behavioral responses, and activity were recorded during the test. Castration treatment and sampling timepoint impacted activity levels hours after treatments. Piglets’ behavior and activity at week 1 suggest a negative impact of surgical castration on anxiety. Impacts of castration treatments observed in week 1 were no longer detected in week 12. Results confirm that surgical castration negatively impacts affective states of 1-week-old piglets, but results did not support a long-term impact detectable at 12 weeks of age. As this is the first study assessing the relationship between painful procedures and piglet affective state, more research is needed to better understand the impacts on these and other measures of pig affect.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 52%

Investigating the short- and long-term impacts of pain from surgical castration on affective states in piglets

Neary

Ali

Jacobs

2022

Preprint

Self Cite

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“…All respondents were aged 18 years or older and lived in the US and responses were entered anonymously. Survey respondents were requested to provide informed consent prior to accessing the survey tool and the consent form is provided as supplementary material in Neary et al ( 2022 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public and industry knowledge and perceptions of US swine industry castration practices

Neary,

Guthrie,

Jacobs

2023

Anim. welf.

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In the United States (US), surgical castration of male piglets is typically performed without any form of analgesia. This may raise concerns with the public; however, there is no information regarding current public knowledge on swine industry practices in the US. In this study we gained insight into public knowledge and perception on castration with and without analgesia in comparison to knowledge of industry stakeholders on these same topics. Through an online survey, 119 respondents were asked four questions about castration in the US swine industry. Industry respondents were contacted via social media and networking. The general public sample was accessed through Mechanical Turk. Survey responses were categorised by experience (industry vs public). Industry respondents were more aware of practices compared to the general public. Most public respondents were unaware of castration practices and the lack of analgesia use. Respondents from rural communities were more aware of castration practices than (sub)urban communities and more aware of analgesia use than those from urban communities. Those with more education had greater awareness of castration practices (occurrence not frequency). Based on the results from this first US sample, knowledge on industry practices was especially lacking for public respondents, but also for a minority of industry respondents, indicating opportunities for education and further research on the topic.

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“…It has been well established that both castration and tail docking are painful [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ] and that age does not impact an animal’s response to pain, yet there are limited options for providing pain control prior to and after castration and tail docking [ 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 ]. The codes of practice in most countries require the use of anesthetics for the castration procedure and post-operative analgesia of piglets of all ages [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The codes of practice in most countries require the use of anesthetics for the castration procedure and post-operative analgesia of piglets of all ages [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]. It is also recognized that the procedures are painful and that this pain persists for at least 24 h and up to 4 days [ 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 ]. However, there are no single treatments that address both pain control at the time of the surgical procedure and post-operatively [ 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is also recognized that the procedures are painful and that this pain persists for at least 24 h and up to 4 days [ 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 ]. However, there are no single treatments that address both pain control at the time of the surgical procedure and post-operatively [ 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Efficacy and Safety of Lidocam Topical Gel (4% Lidocaine—0.3% Meloxicam) for Pain and Inflammation Management during Castration and Tail Docking in Piglets

Nagel,

Ralston,

Hanson

et al. 2024

Animals

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(1) Background: It has been well established that castration and tail docking are both painful during and following the procedure, yet there are limited convenient and effective products to address both short-term and long-term pain. Lidocam Topical Gel (LTG) (4% lidocaine and 0.3% meloxicam) was developed to address industry needs for an effective and safe product to address animal welfare concerns regarding castration and tail docking in piglets. (2) Methods: Study 1: Male piglets aged 4–8 days of age were treated with LTG (n = 30) or a control gel (n = 30). Approximately 30 min after application of the gel, the piglets were surgically castrated and tail docked. The efficacy of pain control during the surgical procedures and post-procedure (24 h) pain and inflammation control were evaluated using both behavioral and physiological measurements. Study 2: Meloxicam residue depletion following LTG treatment was followed for 28 days. Study 3: Clinical and pathological safety were evaluated in five groups of eight piglets receiving LTG with: (1) no treatment, (2) nominal topical dose, (3) two times the nominal topical dose, (4) three times the nominal topical dose, and 5) one times the nominal topical dose and 2 mL of LTG by oral gavage daily for 3 days. (3) Results: LTG-treated piglets had a significant reduction in electrocutaneous stimulation response before the procedures and 4 and 24 h post-procedures. Stress vocalization intensity and duration were less in piglets receiving LTG during the surgical procedures. Plasma cortisol and substance P were significantly lower in LTG-treated piglets 3 h after castration and tail docking. The weight and average daily gain were significantly increased in piglets receiving LTG. LTG did not interfere with wound healing or cause irritation at the application sites. There were no abnormal clinical or pathological findings associated with the use of LTG at three times the nominal dose given daily for three days. As meloxicam persisted in the application site tissue, a slaughter withdrawal time of 24 days was determined. (4) Conclusions: When applied to the skin 30 min before castration and tail docking, LTG is effective in surgical pain control and provides post-surgical pain control for up to 24 h. LTG is safe for use in piglets and provides an acceptable withdrawal time for commercial use. LTG is a potentially effective product for commercial use for piglet castration and tail docking.

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Recognizing Post-Castration Pain in Piglets: A Survey of Swine Industry Stakeholders and the General Public

Cited by 4 publications

References 29 publications

Investigating the short- and long-term impacts of pain from surgical castration on affective states in piglets

Investigating the short- and long-term impacts of pain from surgical castration on affective states in piglets

Public and industry knowledge and perceptions of US swine industry castration practices

Efficacy and Safety of Lidocam Topical Gel (4% Lidocaine—0.3% Meloxicam) for Pain and Inflammation Management during Castration and Tail Docking in Piglets

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