Sadly, surgery on farm animals is still permitted without anaesthesia up to a certain age. It used to be commonly believed that young animals did not experience pain to the same extent as older ones. This assumption has long been proven wrong.

Despite this, farmers continue to conduct surgery without anaesthesia for a very obvious reason: to save money. 

Expert anaesthesia must be administered by a vet. In contrast to pets like cats and dogs, where there is no question of surgery being performed without an anaesthetic, economic profit takes precedence in the case of farm animals. Even where extremely painful procedures are undertaken, the well-being of the animals is not taken into account. Unfortunately, legislators and decision-makers in this area often allow themselves to be influenced by economic factors. 

Besides our lobbying efforts, every consumer can contribute to a change in thinking. Animal well-being will only play a role in the economy when demand drops for the cheapest meat and intensive livestock farming is scaled down as a result.