Many people involved in the cattle business (including some older veterinarians who went to school when pain was not much discussed) believe that bloodless castration is also painless. On the contrary, of all methods of castration with which I am familiar (knife, burdizzo, chemical, immunological, and banding), banding is probably the most painful. Anyone who doubts this should wind a rubber band or elastrator tightly on his or her finger and let it remain there for hours, not days, and the nature of the pain will be eloquently demonstrated.
Moreover, there is no reason to believe that castration is any less painful in a newly born calf than in an older animal, despite the fact that British law allows castration without anesthesia only before an animal reaches 8 weeks of age, though it is easier to control bleeding in a young animal and thus early castration generates fewer complications.
Nor is castration very sensible from a production point of view. As one Wyoming rancher told me: “First we cut off the animal's testicles and get dinged by the public for being inhumane. Then we place the testicles in their ears (implants) and get dinged by the public for adulterating the food supply. And to add insult to injury, the implants don't work as well as the testicles).” A friend of mine could market intact animals 1 to 2 months earlier than castrates, thereby saving a good deal of feed, being able to advertise the product as humane and hormone-free, and getting top dollar. Research done at Colorado State University and elsewhere has shown that people cannot distinguish young bulls from steers in taste and tenderness tests!
Both the grading system and producer ignorance perpetuate castration — some producers do not even believe one can feed bulls! Veterinarians are perfectly positioned to dispel such ignorance and help producers to penetrate niche markets.
In any event, a veterinarian should always try to mitigate animal pain, for example, by using anesthesia and analgesia for castration, as is legally mandated in northern Europe. He or she should certainly not perpetuate the most painful method, banding, whether it is more painful in older animals or not. Nor should he or she fear gossip impugning his or her motives, since, as the influence of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals on fast food restaurants and grocery chains has shown, society will not tolerate such painful practices much longer, and the industry needs to be seeking alternatives.
I dedicate this column to the memory of Dr. Frank Loew, who would certainly have endorsed the message it contains.