Talk:Elastration
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[edit] Claims that elastration is painful
I have removed the statements that castration is painful (eg "Elastration is considered by some the least humane method of castration practiced commercially"). The refs given have strong POV, are not authoritative, and do not seem to be based on anything scientific. For example, one states "imagine putting a rubber band around your finger and then leaving it there until your finger fell off". If you do in fact try this, you'll find that your finger (which in any case has immensely more nerve endings than a scrotum) soon goes numb.
I have used an elastrator many times on both ram lambs and bull calves, but never having had it done on me I cannot say for certain whether it is painful. However, the reaction of the animals is mild – ram lambs look uncomfortable, lie down for a few minutes, then go on skipping about with their sisters. Bull calves don't appear to notice at all – which is more than can be said for the other methods – even the anaesthetic injection used for those clearly stings quite a bit. The reaction to elastration is certainly much less than for other routine operations such as ear-tagging, or for slight injuries such as scratches and knocks. As for "rot and fall off" – they dry out to a hard lump long before they rot, even in the UK climate. The only problem I'm aware of for competently performed elastration is that the scar can sometimes get infected – but again, this is far less of a problem than with most other methods.
I'm quite prepared to be proved wrong – but it needs to be by authorative sources based on proper research. --Richard New Forest (talk) 17:51, 5 March 2008 (UTC)
