Minister of agriculture Klöckner want that pig farmers are allowed to anesthetize your piglets in the future, prior to castration. Vets protest vehemently against it.
of Each year to be castrated in Germany, approximately 20 million piglets. The reason for this is that the meat of intact boars can stink in a few exceptions. Starting in 2021, the animals must not be operated, at least without anesthesia. However, this raises new problems. Because anesthesia is time-consuming and expensive.
million piglets are castrated in Germany, currently without anesthesia. This is soon forbidden.
Federal agriculture Minister Julia Klöckner (CDU) has now brought out a regulation on the way, according to the farmers, in the future, a crash course in dealing with the newly approved anesthetic Isoflurane. You should anesthetize your Piglet self – what is yet reserved for veterinarians.
vet: “Not to answer
veterinarian Inge Böhne says,” there is a lot of property, belong to the mind, to anesthetize to piglets properly.
is Not the responsibility of the Inge Böhne says. She runs a veterinary practice in the vicinity of Osnabrück. Among its customers is also a farmer, takes on a special animal welfare part of the program and, therefore, his piglets before castration an anesthetic.
Inge Böhne shows how it works. She puts bath a pig on the back in a small plastic clamps to the back legs with one arm and pressed the tiny muzzle in a tight breathing mask. During the anesthetic gas flows, observed, you concentrated the animal. Slowly slackened and the legs. Böhne checks that the piglets show no reflexes any more and then separates the strands of the Seeds.
the Ministry of Agriculture considers that it is reasonable
The Federal Ministry of agriculture (BMEL) considers it acceptable that farmers take on this task. It is highly standardized, relatively simple operations, to be Secretary of state Hermann Onko Aeikens declared and indicates that veterinarians have studied several years of anaesthesia, but many of the things employees. And if he draw a comparison with human medicine: As also, not everything will be made by the doctor, said Aeikens. The veterinarians emphasize, however, that there are doctors and even specialists for anaesthesia: the anaesthetist.
anesthesia belong in the hands of the farmers, the representatives of the farmers Association, Krüsken.
Also, the Secretary-General of the German farmers ‘ Association, Bernhard Krüsken, can not understand the protests of animal doctors. He finds the initiative of Minister of Klöckner pet owners to allow the anesthesia itself, right. “We say that it is therefore in the farmers hand, because the farmers can do it,” says Krüsken. Farmers worked every day on the animal and need a veterinarian, according to the industry representatives.
The reflected Inge Böhne speaks violently. There is a lot of animal medical property, plant, and belong to mind, for example, to assess whether an animal is resilient and anaesthetic. You raise another pig in the height: “This animal I’m not going to castrate you now.” The Piglet was too small, had diarrhea, was suitable for anaesthesia in any case, explains the veterinarian. The goal is that the animals pain-free surgery, Böhne. If the anesthesia would not be made with the necessary expertise, it would be the whole process just a sham.
veterinarian-associations protest will be used
For General anesthesia, the pig, the new means of Isoflurane.
it’s nice to see the professional associations of the veterinarians and protest against the project of the Minister of agriculture. The Federal Association of practising veterinary surgeons indicates that, in a opinion that may occur with the anesthetic also. This demands extensive specialist knowledge. Also, the Federal chamber of veterinary surgeons says that the implementation of a General anesthesia belong in the Hand of a veterinarian.
the whole debate is the cost. Because a veterinarian must be paid for. And the pig farmers under pressure, says farmers ‘ Association representative Krüsken. He also points out that there are, in its view, not enough veterinarians to spay and neuter the millions of piglets. For that reason alone, the farmer needs to be able to do it myself.
Other ways than castration
There is neither enough equipment nor enough veterinarians were available, says Karl-Heinz Waldmann of the University of Veterinary medicine Hannover. He is the Chairman of the Committee on swine of the Federal chamber of veterinary surgeons. Waldmann points out that it is not necessary to castrate all the piglets. Battle company could sort out stinking meat. Another option is to immunize boars against the smell. From an animal welfare point of view, the so-called immuno-castration is the best Alternative, as stated in the opinion of the Federal research Institute for animal health. Because the animals would also be calmer, less aggressive.
will Also trade and battle groups in the responsibility
The animal doctor Inge Böhne wants an end to the castration of Piglets, the pigs remained unharmed. The Secretary-General of the farmers Association, Krüsken, sees the responsibility, however, in the case of the meat industry and the food trade. They were boars and vaccinated animals are reluctant, apparently out of fear that the consumer could reject the meat. Also, BMEL, state Secretary Aeikens declared, it mast still resentment from the trade and processors, compared to the Boar.
Multiple battle companies, with the split, however, on request, they accepted all of the methods. And the Federal Association of the German food trade, writes about Commerce as a whole considered all of the procedures were accepted, which were allowed by law. In relation to the individual methods, the company would set different priorities.
castrated but the fact is, the majority of male piglets, even though farmers, retailers and meat industry had already agreed in 2010, at European level, starting in 2012, no piglets are castrated without anaesthetic. From 2018, according to this industry statement, it should be completely stop the castration. Yet the entire industry still seems far away.