Castration of male cattle is routinely performed for management reasons, but without appropriate anaesthesia and analgesia it causes significant acute pain that is unnecessary given the available options for effective pain control.
Castration without pain relief causes unnecessary suffering that is technically straightforward to prevent. The acute cortisol spike, altered behaviour, and reduced feeding that follow unrelieved castration confirm that the procedure is painful. Farmers who argue against pain relief on grounds of cost or inconvenience are making a choice to impose preventable pain on their animals. The economic argument is also weak: the minimal cost of lidocaine and meloxicam is offset by faster recovery, maintained feed intake, and reduced risk of post-operative complications. Regulatory requirements for pain relief at castration are emerging in several countries, but voluntary adoption by progressive producers — and consumer demand for welfare-assured beef — are accelerating the transition.