Search

Background: Anaesthesia is mandatory for disbudding and castrating calves and lambs of any age, in Switzerland. According to the "anaesthesia delegation model" (ADM), anaesthesia for disbudding calves <3 weeks of age and castrating calves and lambs <2 weeks of age may be administered by certified farmers. Experience with this unique model is not available. The aim was to evaluate the experience of the veterinary practitioners with the ADM. The response rate was 42%. The survey consisted of one questionnaire for each procedure. Procedure I was the delegation of anaesthesia for disbudding calves and procedures II and III were anaesthesia for castrating calves and lambs., Results: Procedure I was performed with local anaesthesia in all farms of 51.8% of the veterinary practices, while this was only 39.3% and 7.6% for procedures II and III (p < 0.001). Anaesthesia for procedure I was administered technically correctly by farmers in at least 66% of the farms of 58.3% of the practitioners, while this was 45.4% and only 23.6% for procedures II and III (p < 0.001). The ADM was assessed as a moderate to very good model to reinforce the legal obligations for procedures I, II, or III by 74.8%, 76.5% and 62.0% of the veterinary practitioners (p < 0.005)., Conclusions: The delegation of anaesthesia to certified farmers may be a promising model to reinforce the obligation to provide local anaesthesia for disbudding and castrating calves, but to a lesser extent for castrating lambs.

The aim of this study was to describe the practical implementation of the painless castration under injection anaesthesia in Switzerland. 30 swine farms were visited and 60 farmers answered a questionnaire. 34 % of the piglets showed movements during castration under injection anaesthesia and 17 % had excitations during recovery from anaesthesia. After 48 minutes half of the piglets were in sternal position and after 112 minutes half of them showed coordinated movements. The body temperature decreased by 3.1 °C until 60 minutes after castration, especially small piglets reached critical temperature levels. 38 % of the piglets showed strong bleeding after castration. The healing of the wound was good according to 82 % of the farmers. 83 % of the farmers reported piglet losses, especially at the beginning of the anaesthesia period. The anaesthesia may be improved by using butorphanol in addition to the combination of ketamine and azaperone. The recovery of the piglets should be in a warm place without any risk of injury by obstacles or the sow. Increased bleeding can be controlled by using an emasculator.

Sequential magnetic resonance imaging studies over a period of 18 months were performed in a two-year-old pug dog after suspected global brain ischaemia following an anaesthetic accident. The dog was presented with seizures and neurological deficits consistent with a left brainstem and multifocal/diffuse forebrain lesion after an asymptomatic interval of 72 hours following the ischaemic event. Magnetic resonance imaging scans were performed three hours, six weeks, seven and 18 months after the incident. In the acute stage, signal hyperintensity was evident in the occipital and parietal regions of the cerebral cortex and in both rostral caudate nuclei. Slight involvement of the white matter was also noticed. In the chronic phase, the signal hyperintensity in the affected areas of the cortex was diminished and smaller in size, whereas the white matter did not appear to be compromised anymore.

Since September 1, 2001, castration of male calves and small ruminants in Switzerland is not allowed without anesthesia. The use of rubber rings for that purpose is forbidden. This change of the legislation has been claimed by the Swiss consumers and is aimed to increase the animal welfare. The current paper provides a review of the different techniques of anesthesia and castration that may be advocated in male ruminants. Sedation with xylazine and injection of lidocaine in the area of the base of the scrotum, followed by closed castration with the Burdizzo represents a safe technique for painfree castration of calves and lambs.