Using serum Cortisol to distinguish between acute stress and pain response following castration in piglets

摘要

In the United States swine industry, castration is essentially universal and only a select number of male pigs are left intact as potential breeder boars. Pain and distress inflicted by castration is an animal well-being concern in livestock production. Castration in pigs has been shown to cause a stressful and painful response. The need for a robust, repeatable pysiological indicator of pain for use in the assessment of production practices designed to minimize these impacts has been recognized.