Effect of two methods and two anaesthetics for local anaesthesia of piglets during castration.

Background: Since January 2019, surgical castration of male piglets must be performed using local anaesthesia, if farmers deliver pigs to the primary exporting slaughterhouses according to the "Danish quality scheme"; a voluntary initiative taken by the Danish pig industry. The approved procedure for local anaesthesia in Denmark is a three-step injection method with procaine. A comparison of lidocaine and procaine with the same concentration and injection methods of local anaesthetics has not previously been studied.

Antimicrobial reduction measures applied in Danish pig herds following the introduction of the "Yellow Card" antimicrobial scheme.

Following introduction of the antimicrobial restrictive "Yellow Card Scheme" in summer 2010, a rapid decrease in the Danish national pig antimicrobial consumption was observed. The aims of this study were to (i) investigate which measures had been implemented to reduce the antimicrobial consumption according to farmers and veterinarians and (ii) where possible, investigate if said measures were reflected in the herds' antimicrobial purchase data. Based on national register data from VetStat and the Central Husbandry Register, the study population was selected among Danish pig herds which had decreased their annual antimicrobial consumption with ≥10% following the introduction of the Yellow Card Scheme comparing June 1, 2009-May 31, 2010 to June 1, 2010-May 31, 2011.