Animal welfare
It is obvious that traditionally performed castration is a procedure that has a serious negative impact on the welfare of pigs. The procedure includes pain, fear and distress in the acute situation and also for a period of hours after the castration has been conducted.
Definition: Animal welfare
Animal welfare means how an animal is coping with the conditions in which it lives. An animal is in a good state of welfare if (as indicated by scientific evidence) it is healthy, comfortable, well nourished, safe, able to express innate behaviour and if it is not suffering from unpleasant states such as pain, fear and distress. Good animal welfare requires disease prevention and veterinary treatment, appropriate shelter, management, nutrition, humane handling and humane slaughter/killing. Animal welfare refers to the state of the animal; the treatment that an animal receives is covered by other terms such as animal care, animal husbandry and humane treatment (OIE, 2008).
