Castration of male livestock and the potential of immunocastration to improve animal we

Abstract

Growing consumer awareness about animal welfare has led to the assessment of the impact of common farming practices, such as physical castration, on animal well-being under production conditions. Physical castration is used in livestock industries to prevent indiscriminate breeding, control aggression, and improve meat and carcass quality. In terms of animal welfare, physical castration causes pain, decreased growth performance, infection, and mortality. An alternative approach to castration is thus warranted that will ensure optimal growth without compromising the castrated animal's wellbeing. Immunocastration has proved to be an effective method of suppressing the development and functioning of the reproductive system in various domesticated and wildlife species. The effect of immunocastration on production performance is welldocumented for both swine and cattle. Although ram lambs used for meat production are often physically castrated, information regarding the potential application of immunocastration in sheep is limited. However, immunocastration may potentially improve the welfare, performance, and meat quality of ram lambs used in commercial meat production systems. The purpose of this review is to compare the application and the effects of immunocastration on male livestock to highlight and motivate the need for further research into its use on ram lambs.

Sustainability of Pork Production with Immunocastration in Europe

“…Even with immunocastration, pigs have to be treated by humans. However, immunocastration is carried out later in life during the fattening stage and farmers are given a longer time span to apply the vaccination [56]. Mimicking the injection procedure of Improvac ® , McGlone, and co-authors [57] investigated the effects of intramuscular or subcutaneous injection of 1 mL of saline on pain and stress in finishing pigs.…”

“…Immunocastration is mainly used in the production of male animals for standard conventional pork products [56]. Nonetheless, the methodology can be used for alternative production systems.…”

Immunocastration on performance and meat quality of Bos indicus (Nellore) cattle under different nutritional systems

“…The traditional castration method of males consists of surgery, gonad removal, or rupture of the spermatic cord. These techniques lead to postoperative complications, labor costs, time expenditure, stress, decreased production, and problems regarding animal welfare (Needham et al, 2017). Therefore, immunocastration, a temporary castration method that blocks testosterone production, as in surgical castration but without adverse side effects, has been considered the optimal procedure to improve carcass and meat quality characteristics since it provides a more significant deposition of subcutaneous and intramuscular fat, improving beef quality.…”

Influence of immunocastration vaccine administration interval on serum androgen concentrations and testis activity in ram lambs

“…Although the influence of immunocastration on production and reproduction parameters in swine and cattle is relatively well-documented, as discussed by Needham et al, (2017), information regarding the effect of immunocastration in sheep is scarce. The immunocastration of rams has been successful in decreasing testosterone secretion using (Ülker et al, 2003), GnRH-keyhole limpet hemocyanin vaccines (Kiyma et al, 2000) and Improvac ® (Janett et al, 2003).…”