Top 5 best practices for avoiding pain in castration

The experts in this thematic group selected these five best practices from the initial list of 21 candidates.

Following this round, where the Top 5 Best Practices have been selected, the process will continue with the final selection of the 3 Winning Practices.

Immunocastration in very large pens

They wanted to test immunocastration to avoid fighting, mounting, and the resulting injuries. This was despite them having large pens with 350–450 pigs of mixed sex at insertion.

The pigs are moved to the finisher section at approximately 30 kg. After one to two weeks, the pigs are vaccinated for the first time. Four to six weeks before the first pigs are slaughtered, the second vaccination is administered. Three employees carry out the procedure. They use a safety vaccinator and a marking spray. During vaccination, all the pigs in the large pen are checked. The sows are marked with a line on their backs, and the male pigs are marked with a dot on their necks after vaccination. This procedure is used at both vaccination times. Once finished, all three employees walk from one end of the pen to the other to ensure that all pigs have been checked and all male pigs have been vaccinated.

Following the introduction of immunocastration to the herd and the second vaccination, fighting and mounting stopped, and the staff preferred to vaccinate rather than castrate.

Enhancing the value of immunocastration

Since 2016, the preferred method of raising pigs to higher finishing weights (140–160 kg) has been immune vaccination, based on high welfare management principles such as straw bedding and increased space per pig. This method eliminates the need for physical castration and the risk of boar taint or aggressive behaviour.

Seven trained members of staff manage the entire process to ensure full compliance. Since implementing this new programme in 2016, the company has not received any complaints from its customers, which has convinced the company of the sustainability of this technology for the future. This decision is further confirmed by the positive ROI results on the farm. Improved FCR results were observed, as well as an 1.8% increase in muscle (lean meat) in the carcasses compared to physically castrated pigs.

The impact on pig welfare is also positive (there is no need to castrate piglets and there is no aggressive behaviour in the pens). The new generation of piggery staff also finds physical castration less acceptable than the older generation. In their high-weight finishers, they want to avoid any risk of non-compliance, so they administer an additional third safety vaccination to 5–15% of pigs. Overall, the results are positive, and the market is willing to pay a premium for high-quality pork and the improved welfare of the pigs. (+ €0.05/kg carcass weight).

Rationalising the practice of immunocastration​

They have been practising immunocastration since 2022 to stop castration and avoid any risk of odour.

Animals are sexed on arrival at the nursery when they are 21 days old. The groups are maintained at the pre-fattening stage (around 20 kg) with the withdrawal of the smallest pigs, in order to create groups of 22 pigs. During the fattening stage (when they weigh around 50–60 kg), the groups are split.

Pigs receive the first injection at the end of the pre-fattening period, at 16 weeks old, before going to the fattening stage. The second injection takes place four weeks later in the fattening phase.

Injections can be easily administered on the fly without the need for a panel. If necessary, a third injection is performed. This concerns around 10 out of the 75 males in the room. The efficacy of the vaccination is checked two weeks after the second injection (boar taint, overlap).

Breeding is conducted on a weekly basis, making it possible to carry out injections 1 and 2, as well as controls, on three different groups on the same day.

Local anaesthesia to reduce pain at castration

Surgical castration should be performed by qualified personnel, as the correct administration of local anaesthesia and analgesia is essential for improving animal welfare, reducing pain, preventing infection, reducing mortality, and saving time.

It is also advisable to include other routines, e.g. vaccinations and iron injections, to allow sufficient time for the local anaesthetic to take effect before castration, thereby improving the working environment. Other important routines include disinfecting tools and/or changing tools between litters to limit the transportation of bacteria between pigs/litters. Using local anaesthesia and analgesia correctly improves animal welfare, as there are very limited or no reactions during castration and the piglets start to move and drink milk right afterwards.

Respecting the piglets in castration with local anaesthesia

In some countries, castration without pain relief is illegal. One option is to use analgesia without anaesthesia, or anaesthesia with analgesia. This farm was one of the pilot farms to adopt castration with local anaesthesia as soon as it became possible. The process begins with collecting the piglets from the pen. All piglets are given an ear tag to mark them as being produced without antibiotics and a tattoo with the farm registration number on the other ear. Castration begins with a painkiller being administered to the male piglets, followed by an iron and coccidiosis injection, and finally local anaesthetic.

One injection is given to the tissue under the skin in the middle of each testicle and one is given to the vas deferens canal between the testicles. Two litters are handled at once. One worker treats the gilts, which are returned to the sow as soon as one litter has been treated. On the way back, new litters are brought to the station, where the worker starts sorting the new litter at once. The males are given a running number on their back and the times of the anaesthetic injections are recorded. Then, one must wait 10 minutes before castration. The piglets wait on a heated plate above. Castration is performed in a rack that maintains skin contact with the person performing the procedure, which calms the piglet. Two people can treat two litters in about 30 minutes.