Tuning lidocaine delivery from latex elastrator rings

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New strategies are required to control pain in cattle undergoing castration, in order to keep abreast of mankind's**changing relationships with animals.**A common method to effect castration of young bulls is to attach a small elastic band (called an elastrator ring)**around the animal's scrotum. This cuts off blood supply, which eventually leads to the loss of the testicles. As**with other methods of castration however, application of elastrator rings necessarily causes some pain and**discomfort to the animal. In anticipation of the changing regulatory landscape - which will soon mandate that**pain mitigation strategies be employed during castration - Chinook Contract Research (CCR) is developing a**version of elastrator rings that come pre-loaded with the anesthetic lidocaine. This drug is already approved for**use in food-producing animals, and has a fast onset time that will provide effective pain relief during the**castration procedure.**The current Engage partnership with the Wulff research group at the University of Victoria will result in the**optimization of the drug-loading procedure, better analytical methods to detect drug release, and a**mock-animal method to assess delivery to tissue. These advances will allow CCR to meet upcoming patent**deadlines and play an increasing role in the $33 billion Canadian cattle sector.