The Case Against Castration of Dogs Reference 1. In a study of 98,000 dogs, over a 2 year period, the overall risk of anaesthetic or sedation-related death in dogs was 0.17% (1 in 601). Additional complications from anaesthesia were not reported in this study, but they include ailments such as swelling at the site of injection, decrease in cardiac output, and anaphylactic shock among others. Clearly the health risks just from the anaesthetic alone are not insignificant. All going well, castration under anaesthetic might be painless to an animal at the time, but it is certainly not painless when they wake up post operation. Our society generally condemns inflicting pain and suffering on animals, so why do we turn a blind eye to the post-operative pain and discomfort caused by this procedure? Reference 2. This study looks at the incidence of dog bites, in both entire dogs, and those that have been castrated. Contrary to popular belief, castrated animals are not rendered passive. In fact, the data from this very large study shows that there is a low but significant increase in the odds of moderate or severe aggression toward strangers for all castrated dogs, compared with intact dogs. The study postulates that hormonal changes may be responsible for an increase in fear and anxiety driven aggression. Castration will disrupt hormonal balance, and risk disturbing mental health, both with potentially serious consequences. Reference 2. also states that there is “increasing evidence of significant negative health effects associated with gonadectomy”, and in particular that “gonadectomy significantly increases the risks of developing many different serious forms of cancer, including hemangiosarcoma, mast cell cancer, prostatic carcinoma, osteosarcoma, and lymphoma/lymphosarcoma, along with the development of these cancers at earlier ages. This increased risk of cancer may be related to the long-term effects of elevated blood levels of luteinizing hormone.” Clearly the procedure carries significant negative long-term health risks for the animal. PWD 12/01/2023 References: 1. Brodbelt DC, Blissitt KJ, Hammond RA, Neath PJ, Young LE, Pfeiffer DU, Wood JL. 2008. The risk of death: the confidential enquiry into perioperative small animal fatalities. Vet Anaesth Analg. Sep;35(5):365-73 Eg @ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18466167/ 2. Farhoody P, Mallawaarachchi I, Tarwater PM, Serpell JA, Duffy DL and Zink C (2018) Aggression toward Familiar People, Strangers, and Conspecifics in Gonadectomized and Intact Dogs. Front. Vet. Sci. 5:18. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2018.00018 https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2018.00018
