Question

Do castration give pain to the bull? Or it just change the aggressiveness of bull.

Answer 1

On Indian farms, male calves (yes, it’s done very early in the animal’s life) are castrated to make them docile when they grow up. Bulls are full of testosterone and are unfit for work, besides they can be very aggressive. No farmer wants to handle an unruly animal that doesn’t listen to commands. On dairy farms, you don’t need bulls, as is explained below. Castration is a nasty business. In the old days, when no vets were available, all a farmer needed was a razor blade, needle, and thread. By the time the operation was over, there would be blood everywhere. This, thankfully, gave way to the Burdizzo bloodless castrator, probably named after the gentleman who invented it. Around two-and-half feet long, the Burdizzo is a blunt plier that is pressed from both sides into the top of the scrotum. This irreparably damages the vessels that supply blood to the testicles. While it is bloodless, it is not painless. About four people have to hold down the calf while the fifth wields the vile instrument. The cries of the calf are something that you can never unhear. After the procedure, which lasts a few minutes, the calf continues to be in great pain for days. The testicles swell up with liquid and become the size of coconuts. After a few days, the swollen testicles start to shrivel and disappear. The calf begins to walk normally and grows up into a sensible bullock that takes orders easily. Keeping bullocks for farming or draught is cruel, nothing romantic about it. The sad thing is that only a few dozen calves among thousands remain uncastrated. If it was carried out on all, the species would die out. When these uncastrated calves grow up, their lives are no better.