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Summary1. The spatial organization of a badger population (North Nibley) is described before and after it was subjected to a UK Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food badger removal operation (BRO) intended to control bovine tuberculosis.Comparison is made with an undisturbed badger population (Woodchester Park). 2. The Woodchester Park population was organized in group territories with clearly de®ned boundaries that remained stable during the 3 years of study (1995± 97). In North Nibley, however, the badgers' spatial organization was severely perturbed in the ®rst year and, to a lesser extent, also in the second year after the BRO, with badgers using latrines further away from their setts. This resulted in enlarged social group ranges that were dicult to de®ne and overlapped considerably. 3. The disturbance was observed in the removal groups, those immediately adjacent, as well as those at a distance of one or two social groups from the removal area, with an unexpected indication that the latter groups may have been the most aected. 4. The apparent increase in the size of the group ranges in North Nibley was likely to have been caused by an increased proportion of badgers making extra-group excursions in the aftermath of the BRO. 5. Initial recolonization was almost exclusively by females. 6. Although such perturbation might be expected to facilitate disease transmission between badger social groups, there was no evidence that any infectious animals had survived the BRO. However, there were further cattle breakdowns in the area. 7. The behaviour of badgers after the BRO also provided an opportunity to test predictions made by competing hypotheses about the main determinants of the badger's socio-spatial behaviour.

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This paper constitutes a review on the welfare aspects of piglet castration that considers the scientific literature published after 2004. Castrating during the neonatal period (1 to 3 days of age) is clearly painful. In addition, inflammatory processes may take place at the sites of incision, thus adding further pain to the procedure. Surgical castration with general and local anaesthesia, in combination with long-term analgesia, has been shown to reduce pain but the additional handling and injection of the anaesthetic, the effectiveness and limited safety margins have to be thoroughly evaluated. Raising entire males during the whole fattening period or immunocastration of males towards the end of the fattening period are other alternatives with welfare benefits in young pigs compared to current surgical castration, but with some potential welfare drawbacks regarding handling stress and behaviour during fattening. Based on the current knowledge, it can be concluded that sperm sexing and raising entire males after genetic control of boar taint are potentially preferable alternatives to current practices, but need further research, as these methods are not yet available.