Castration of male farm animals is routine practice in beef and pork production. The welfare costs are significant and are increasingly being addressed through pain management requirements and alternative approaches.
Castration welfare represents a clear case where the welfare evidence is strong but practice change has been slow. The pain caused by castration without analgesia is acute, prolonged, and measurable through multiple behavioral and physiological indicators. The mitigation - local anesthesia and NSAIDs - is available and effective. The barrier has been cost and cultural acceptance, not scientific uncertainty. Mandatory pain relief requirements for castration, already implemented in some jurisdictions, change producer practice effectively. The longer-term solution of immunocastration eliminates the surgical welfare cost while meeting production objectives, and its adoption is growing in markets that accept it.