MovieChat Forums > The Incredible Dr. Pol (2011) Discussion > Does he sedate or numb the bulls before ...

Does he sedate or numb the bulls before sterilization?

posted 8 years ago by sarah_toots
3 replies | jump to latest

I was just watching the episode (S8-Ep11)where the two twin cows were born and later on in the episode Dr. Pol is sterilizing five bulls and I didn't see him numb the area and I cannot imagine the pain those poor animals must've gone through being castrated without pain medication. Is it normal to not numb them with castration? It seems cruel, abusive and wrong if so. I realize that just because they didn't show the numbing doesn't mean they didn't numb the testicle area....., but it just got me wondering.

[–] AmyJolamb 8 years ago

My husband grew up on a farm and to my surprise it is normal for them not to use anything to numb for sterilization.

[–] lindy452 8 years ago

I watch all the vet shows and I thought he was the only who doesn't numb. There is a big difference in his procedures period. I think he is a "Good Ole country" vet that just does the minimum to save costs to his farmer clients. Even Dr. Jeff in Colorado numbs and he is a low-cost vet. Love the show just the same.

[–] ih8tt 7 years ago

if you watch a lot of stuff concerning farm animals, you'll see that sedation or numbing is used minimally (especially with castrations - see the sheep herder episode of Dirty Jobs), possibly to preserve the safety of the meat for later human consumption, and I think it's kind of the philosophy of this vet practice that it's better to do something quickly & violently, than to go slowly, use medication, then wait for the animal to recover