Surgical procedures with anaesthesia and analgesia - beef and milk

Monitoring of compliance during the contract period can for example be done through sampling at one or several occasions of one or several products for which the criterion applies. The supplier can prove that the product(s) meet the requirement through, e.g,:

• Product labelling, e.g., Svenskt Sigill, KRAV or other labels showing that the requirement is met.
• Other written documentation showing that the requirement is met, e.g., audit records, veterinary records or inspection reports.                               

Bloodless castration using a so-called Burdizzo clamp is a surgical procedure that is included in the requirement for anaesthesia according to information from the Swedish Board of Agriculture, 2019.

NSAID =Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. 

The criterion limits market availability for individual products.

The criterion covers castration of bulls, removal of horns and disbudding calves by cauterisation. In calves, the keratin is in a growth phase and there are many nerves and blood vessels in the tissue when horn buds are removed.  In adult cattle, dehorning without anaesthesia increases the risk of repercussions, such as sinusitis and local pain.

Animals in pain are likely to be less productive and there is good evidence that chronic pain will change an animal’s metabolism adversely.¹​ NSAID given to animals in addition to anaesthesia has been shown to reduce an animal's symptoms of pain during both dehorning and castration.²

¹Chambers et al., 2002

²The Swedish Medical Products Agency, 2009

The version date indicates when the sustainability criterion was created or last updated. Last reviewed dated tells when we last checked that the sustainability criterion still is relevant.